By Linda A Smith Samantha Healy Vardaman Melissa A Snow

By:Linda A. SmithSamantha Healy VardamanMelissa A. Snow

The National Report on DomesticMinor Sex Trafficking:America’s Prostituted ChildrenM a y 2 0 0 9

iiShared Hope InternationalAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any mannerwithout the written permission of Shared Hope International, except in thecase of brief quotations used in connection with critical articles and reviews.Cover and text art by J. David Ford & Associates, Hurst, TX© 2009 Shared Hope InternationalPrinted in the United States of America.Shared Hope InternationalP.O. Box 65337Vancouver, WA 98665Shared Hope International1501 Lee Highway, Suite 101Arlington, VA 22209www.sharedhope.org

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted ChildreniiiT A B L E O F C O N T E N T SExecutive Summary .......................................................................................................... ivIntroduction ...................................................................................................................... 1Chapter 1Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking ....................................................................................... 4Chapter 2The Business of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking............................................................ 16Chapter 3Vulnerability ................................................................................................................... 30Chapter 4Recruitment and Pimp Control ....................................................................................... 37Chapter 5Identification of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Victimsand Trauma Bonds .......................................................................................................... 41Chapter 6Lack of Justice for the Victims of Domestic MinorSex Trafficking ................................................................................................................ 50Chapter 7Shelter and Services ......................................................................................................... 67Chapter 8Next Steps ....................................................................................................................... 74

ivShared Hope InternationalExecutive SummaryDomestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of American childrenwithin U.S. borders. It is the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a personfor the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residentunder the age of 18 years. I The age of the victim is the critical issue — there is no requirement to proveforce, fraud, or coercion was used to secure the victim’s actions. In fact, the law recognizes the effect ofpsychological manipulation by the trafficker, as well as the effect of threat of harm which traffickers/pimpsuse to maintain control over their young victims. II DMST includes but is not limited to the commercialsexual exploitation of children through prostitution, pornography, and/or stripping. Experts estimateat least 100,000 American juveniles are victimized through prostitution in America each year. Domesticminor sex trafficking is child sex slavery, child sex trafficking, prostitution of children, commercial sexualexploitation of children (CSEC), and rape of a child.Shared Hope International first actively addressed the sex trafficking of American children throughresearch on the markets that create demand for commercial sex and which result in the commercialsexual exploitation of women and girls. The DEMAND. Project investigated buyers, facilitators, andtraffickers in four countries: Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. The startling findingshighlighted the fact that sex trafficking is demand-driven and the product for sale is most commonly local(domestic) children. Dedicated to ending the human rights violation of sex trafficking internationally anddomestically, Shared Hope International received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to performfield research on domestic minor sex trafficking — the commercial sexual exploitation of Americanchildren in the United States.Acknowledging that strategic responses to sex trafficking require comprehensive understanding of thelocal situation, Shared Hope International aligned with the U.S. Department of Justice-funded humantrafficking task forces to assess domestic minor sex trafficking and the access to victim services in ten U.S.locations:1. Dallas, TX2. San Antonio, TX3. Fort Worth, TX4. Salt Lake City, UT5. Buffalo, NY6. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA7. Independence, MO8. Las Vegas, NV9. Clearwater, FL10. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territory)The assessment process investigated the three areas of Prevention, Prosecution, and Protection (“three Ps”) asthe key components necessary to effectively combat trafficking in persons. The assessments involved qualitativeinterviews of professionals likely to come into contact with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, as wellas quantitative data collection when available. Seven professional groups were identified as likely to come intocontact with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking and targeted for interviews: Federal, State, and LocalLaw Enforcement; Federal and State Prosecutors; Juvenile Court; Juvenile Probation and Detention; PublicDefenders; Child Protective Services; and Social Services/Non-Governmental Organizations. A total of 297interviews were conducted. Statistics were requested but were not always available. In many cases, statisticsITrafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386, Division A, § 103(8), (9), 114 Stat. 1464 (signed intolaw on October 29, 2000); codified as amended at 22 USC 7102 § 103(8), (9). http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws& docid=f:publ386.106. Accessed on April 8, 2009.IIId. at §1591(b)(2).

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Childrenvprovided did not disaggregate data on domestic minor sex trafficking — a term and crime most intervieweeswere not familiar with yet; in these cases the statistics were reviewed for extrapolation in determining numbersof suspected domestic minor sex trafficking victims. For example, juvenile detention facility statistics reflectingnumbers of youth detained under charges of prostitution could be properly counted toward the number ofdomestic minor sex trafficking victims in that facility as juveniles in prostitution are victims of sex traffickingunder the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). The reliance on extrapolated data reflectsthe glaring lack of identification of domestic minor sex trafficking victims and highlights the need for trainingas well as data collection on this victim population.Each assessed location produced information that was documented in an area-specific report, includinginformation on the scope of the problem, how victims of domestic minor sex trafficking were accessingthe system, how they were being labeled, and, as a result of that label, how victims of domestic minorsex trafficking were accessing or being barred from accessing services as victims of a violent crime. Thefindings from the 10 site assessments, research studies, and field work are the foundation for this NationalReport on the Identification and Response to America’s Trafficked Youth. Substantiation of the findingswas gained through Shared Hope International’s National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking ofAmerica’s Youth held September 15-16, 2008, in Dallas, Texas, which brought together nearly 200 firstresponders from across the nation to share their experiences and best practices for responding to domesticminor sex trafficking. Also, experts on the trauma and services required to counteract the trauma enduredprovided guidance in forming best practices in this field.The key findings of the study can be grouped into four components of domestic minor sex trafficking:identifying the victims; prosecuting the traffickers; combating demand; and providing protection, access toservices, and shelter for victims.1. MisidentificationShared Hope International found misidentification of the victims to be the primary barrier to the rescue andresponse to domestic minor sex trafficking victims. This misidentification occurs at all levels of first responsesfrom law enforcement arrest on the streets to homeless and runaway youth shelters’ intake process, to courtadjudication of the victim as a delinquent for habitual runaway or drug possession, or other offense occurringas a result of the prostitution of the child. Misidentification causes a chain reaction of negative outcomes.It is responsible for the failure to deliver the necessary services to interrupt and treat the trauma they haveendured. It is often the cause of their adjudication as delinquents or criminalization as adult offenders ofprostitution, leading to detention and/or a criminal record with resulting lack of access to victim of crimefunds. Misidentification can be remedied only through awareness and education of first responders and thecommunity at large to properly identify the indicators of domestic minor sex trafficking and to respond withthe appropriate treatment and approach developed by experts in the specific trauma caused by trafficking.2. Criminalization of the Victim through MisidentificationVictims of domestic minor sex trafficking are frequently processed as juvenile delinquents or adultprostitutes. Prostituted juveniles are trained by their trafficker/pimp to lie to authorities and are providedwith excellent fraudulent identification resulting in their registration in the arrest records as an adult— an identification that follows them through their years as a minor unless and until it is correctedby the insight of a law enforcement officer who recognizes the victim is a minor and pursues a correctidentification. Law enforcement cited this problem as a barrier to identifying a child sex traffickingvictim. Those victims who are identified as minors are frequently charged with a delinquent act either forprostitution-related activities or for a related offense, such as drug possession or habitual runaway. Thesechildren are found in detention facilities across the country, as well as in juvenile justice rehabilitativeprograms. Due to the unique trauma bonding that occurs between a victim and her trafficker, thesechildren often run from juvenile facilities right back to the person that exploited them.

viShared Hope International3. Criminalization as a Response to No Options for PlacementLaw enforcement officers report they are often compelled to charge a victim of domestic minor sextrafficking with a delinquency offense in order to detain her in a secured facility to keep her safe fromthe trafficker/pimp and the trauma-driven response of flight. The frustration of first responders withthis maneuver was widely expressed; however, in the absence of better options, this stop-gap measurecontinues. The results are detrimental for the victim who rarely receives any services in detention, muchless services specific to the trauma endured through sex trafficking. Also, the entry of the juvenile into thedelinquency system can disqualify her from accessing victim of crime funds for services in some states.4. Inappropriate or Inaccessible Services for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking TraumaExperts speak of the trauma suffered by child sex trafficking victims as more severe than most sexuallybasedtrauma given the chronic nature coupled with the reinforced victimization from the community atlarge of buyers. Therefore, the services required for a child sex trafficking victim are unique and rarelyavailable. Many victims cannot access the services due to their detention and resulting label of juveniledelinquent. In some cases, the victim’s access to services can be contingent on cooperation with lawenforcement in an investigation into the trafficking crime. Sex trafficking is the only sex crime in which thevictim is threatened with incarceration or denial of services to elicit facts about the crime.5. Burden on the Victim to Build the Case Against the Trafficker/PimpArrest and prosecution of the traffickers is too frequently based solely on the victim’s cooperation andtestimony. This approach places the burden on the victim rather than on the investigators — a burden that ismost often too heavy for these traumatized children who typically require a lengthy amount of time beforethey will disclose the facts of their victimization and only if approached with advanced interview techniquesto help them with this disclosure. For these reasons, it is critical in cases of domestic minor sex traffickingthat law enforcement pursue innovative or alternative investigation to corroborate the victim’s allegations.Currently, law enforcement agencies typically are not trained in alternative investigative approaches and/orare not provided with adequate resources to develop and initiate these alternative techniques.6. Lack of Protective, Therapeutic Shelters for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking VictimsOnly five residential facilities specific to this population exist across the country. These include the GirlsEducational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) Transition to Independent Living (TIL) in New York City,Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE) Safe House in San Francisco, Children of the Night in LosAngeles, Angela’s House in Atlanta, and the Letot Center in Dallas. There are initiative groups striving toestablish these unique shelters for the population of domestic minor sex trafficking victims in their areas,but the need outpaces the development. The New York State Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Actpassed in 2008 calls for the establishment of such shelters, as will future safe harbor legislation in statesalready considering it — establishing these protective shelters is critical for an effective strategy to combatdomestic minor sex trafficking.7. Insufficient Priority on Combating DemandBuyers are not being recognized as a critical component in the sex trafficking of children, yet demand is theprimary driver of the commercial sex industry within which children are being exploited for commercial sexactivities and performance. Buyers of sex with children can be preferential (pedophiles), opportunistic (thrillseekers),or situational (do not care how old the person being prostituted is) — they are all committing a crime.Frequently, arrests of buyers are pursued in the traditional investigative technique of decoys which is limited totargeting “johns” in general and cannot specifically target a buyer of child sex given the decoy’s age. Innovativeinvestigative techniques that shift the burden of making the case against a perpetrator away from the juvenilevictim and focus instead on arresting all parties to the crime of the sexual exploitation of a child are required.www.sharedhope.org

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 1IntroductionShared Hope International was founded with the mission to rescue and restore women and childrenexploited through sex trafficking and works to prevent the trafficking of new victims. Since 1998, SharedHope International has accomplished this charge through research, human rights investigations, andprogrammatic and operational support to service providers in order to prevent, rescue, and restore victimsof sex trafficking.Following the implementation of successful restoration initiatives internationally, Shared HopeInternational first actively addressed the sex trafficking of American children through research on themarkets that create demand for commercial sex and which result in the commercial sexual exploitation ofwomen and girls. Through an award from the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and CombatTrafficking in Persons, the DEMAND. Project investigated buyers, facilitators, and traffickers in fourcountries: Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. The startling findings highlighted thefact that sex trafficking is demand-driven, and the product for sale is most commonly local (domestic)children.Dedicated to ending the human rights violation of sex trafficking internationally and domestically, SharedHope International proposed and received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of JusticePrograms, Bureau of Justice Assistance to perform field research on domestic minor sex trafficking — thecommercial sexual exploitation of American children in the United States.Acknowledging that strategic responses to sex trafficking require comprehensive understanding of thelocal situation, in 2006 Shared Hope International aligned with 10 of the 42 U.S. Department of Justicefundedhuman trafficking task forces and the larger communities to assess domestic minor sex traffickingand the access to victim services in the following U.S. locations:1. Dallas, TX2. San Antonio, TX3. Fort Worth, TX4. Salt Lake City, UT5. Buffalo, NY6. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA7. Independence, MO8. Las Vegas, NV9. Clearwater, FL10. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territory)The assessment process investigated the three areas of Prevention, Prosecution, and Protection (“threePs”) outlined by the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) as key areas necessary to effectively combat trafficking in persons. The “three Ps” are a recommendedholistic approach to evaluating measures to address trafficking in persons and are used to organize theannual Trafficking in Persons Report issued by G/TIP.The assessments involved qualitative interviews of professionals likely to come into contact with victimsof domestic minor sex trafficking, as well as quantitative data collection when available. Seven professional

2Shared Hope Internationalgroups were identified as likely to come into contact with victims and targeted for interviews:1. Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement2. Federal and State Prosecutors3. Juvenile Court4. Juvenile Probation and Detention5. Public Defenders6. Child Protective Services7. Social Services/Non-Governmental OrganizationsA total of 297 interviews were conducted following the protocol questionnaire. Statistics were requestedfrom interviewees but were not always available. In many cases, statistics provided did not disaggregatedata on domestic minor sex trafficking — a term most interviewees were not familiar with yet; in thesecases the statistics were reviewed for extrapolation in determining numbers of suspected domestic minorsex trafficking victims. For example, juvenile detention facility statistics reflecting numbers of youthdetained under charges of prostitution could be properly counted toward the number of domestic minorsex trafficking victims in that facility as juveniles in prostitution are victims of sex trafficking under thefederal and many state human trafficking laws. The reliance on extrapolated data reflect the glaring lackof identification of domestic minor sex trafficking victims and highlights the need for training as well asrecord keeping on this victim population.Each assessed location produced information that was documented in an area-specific report, includinginformation on the scope of the problem, how victims of domestic minor sex trafficking were accessingthe system, how they were being labeled, and, as a result of that label, how victims of domestic minor sextrafficking were accessing or being barred from accessing services as victims of a violent crime. Reportsand fact sheets for each location were published and provided to the task force, other stake holders, thecommunity, and the larger public in an effort to increase awareness and facilitate increased services forvictims of domestic minor sex trafficking.Shared Hope International found misidentification to be the primary barrier to the rescue and response todomestic minor sex trafficking victims. Also, proper and regular documentation of promising practices inresponding to the complex issues of domestic minor sex trafficking is lacking. In response, Shared HopeInternational organized and hosted the National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’sYouth on September 15 and 16, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. The National Training Conference broughttogether nearly 200 professionals from across the U.S. with the purpose of sharing data, information, andpromising practices to effectively respond to this nationwide problem.Additionally, a four-part, 40-minute training video was crafted to educate and train on the situation anddynamics of domestic minor sex trafficking. A Video Viewing Guide builds in a Training of Trainers(ToT) component enabling individuals to use the training video to teach other groups, thereby expandingthe dissemination of the materials and the awareness. First responders to domestic minor sex trafficking,composed of the seven professions listed above, were specifically targeted as the audience for this training.Entitled “Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s TraffickedYouth,” the training video covers four foundational themes:• Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and the Law• Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and the Role of Vulnerability

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 3• Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and Pimp Control• Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and Effective ResponseThe findings from the National Training Conference, the 10 site assessments, research studies, andfield work are the foundation for this National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’sProstituted Children.AcknowledgmentsShared Hope International extends appreciation to the many people who gave their time and efforts toaccomplishing the assessments in the ten site locations. Our hope is that the information compiled hereassists with efforts to combat child sex trafficking going forward.Shared Hope International staff contributed to the success of this research, especially Kelsey Buchananand Katie Boothroyd. Field-based researchers Joan Reid, Kris Wade, Dr. Alexis Kennedy, Joey Pucci,Karen Andolina Scott, Linda Struble, Nicole Hay, Jennifer Bayhi-Gennaro, Kelli Stevens, Dr. RaymondEve, Brittany Smith, and Dr. Robert Bing were instrumental in performing the assessments.To those who identify the young victims of domestic minor sex trafficking and commit to delivering theservices they need, thank you. Your tireless efforts are making a difference one life at a time.

4Shared Hope InternationalChapter 1: Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingWhat is Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking?The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines the crime of human trafficking as:“A. The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose ofa commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the personinduced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age, orB. The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services,through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.” 1Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of American childrenwithin U.S. borders. It is the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a personfor the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residentunder the age of 18 years. 2 The age of the victim is the critical issue — there is no requirement to proveforce, fraud, or coercion was used to secure the victim’s actions. In fact, the law recognizes the effect ofpsychological manipulation by the trafficker, as well as the effect of threat of harm which traffickers/pimps use to maintain control over their young victims. 3 Children can be commercially sexually exploitedthrough prostitution, pornography, and/or erotic entertainment.“The best estimates, the best data, suggests that we at least have 100,000 American kids a year arevictimized through the practice of child prostitution; that number ranges as high as 300,000.” 4— Ernie Allen, National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenTrafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation and in 1865 underthe Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. However, modern-day slavery continuesin America in the form of human trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA),passed on October 28, 2000, is the first federal law specifically enacted to prevent victimization, protectvictims, and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking. 51Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386, Division A, § 103(8), 114 Stat. 1464 (signed intolaw on October 29, 2000); codified as amended at 22 USC 7102 § 103(8). http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ386.106. Accessed on April 8, 2009.2Id. at §103(8), (9).3Id. at §1591(b)(2).4Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 1. Prod. SharedHope International and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.5TVPA, 22 USC §7101, et seq.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 5The TVPA criminalizes human trafficking and defines the crime of “severe form of traffickingin persons” as:“1. Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or inwhich the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age;2. The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for laboror services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection toinvoluntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”(Emphasis added.)The sex trafficking of children occurs when minors (under the age of 18) are commercially sexuallyexploited. The commercial aspect of the sexual exploitation act is critical to separating the crime oftrafficking from sexual assault, rape, or molestation crimes against children. The term “commercial sexact” is defined in the TVPA as the giving or receiving of anything of value (money, drugs, shelter, food,clothes, etc.) to any person in exchange for a sex act. Importantly, the money or item of value providedfor the sex act can be “given to or received by any person.” 6 This means that the child can be the directrecipient of the money, food, and/or shelter, and the situation is defined as sex trafficking and, mostimportantly, the child is defined as a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking. This issue arises frequentlyin cases of homeless youth engaging in “survival sex” to secure food, housing, transportation, and otheritems of survival. In the absence of a trafficker/pimp selling the youth, the perpetrator paying for the sexact with food, a bed, or a ride can become the trafficker.“I would sell myself for the smallest things and sometimes it was the most important things, like justto get a place to sleep at night.” 7— “Jessica,” Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingUnder federal law trafficking, despite the connotations of the word, does not require proof of physicalmovement of the person. There are several ways to prove the trafficking crime, including proof of“recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining or maintaining a person for sexualexploitation.” Notably, the transportation of a person is just one way to prove the human trafficking — itcan be proven by any of the other elements independently. Further, under federal law, prosecutors mustprove that the crime was “in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce.” Proving an affect on interstatecommerce does not require proof that the victim crossed state lines. Thus, a person can be a victim ofsex trafficking without ever leaving his/her home. The TVPA further outlines the requirements to provea “severe form of trafficking,” including proof of force, fraud, or coercion exercised by the trafficker inthe sex trafficking of an adult and proof of age in the sex trafficking of a minor under age 18. Of keyimportance to understanding domestic minor sex trafficking is the understanding that a child under 18years of age is automatically considered a victim of “severe forms of trafficking” due to the age alone.No proof of force, fraud, or coercion in the case of sex trafficking of a minor is required. Trafficking is acrime of exploitation.6TVPA, 22 USC 7101 §103(3).7Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 2. Prod. SharedHope International and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.

6Shared Hope InternationalThe TVPA goes on to establish a framework of rights that a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking isentitled to, including:• The right not to be detained in facilities inappropriate to their status as crime victims;• The right to receive necessary medical care and other assistance;• The right to be provided protection if a victim’s safety is at risk or if there is a danger of additionalharm by recapture of the victim by a trafficker. 8These rights are not being provided uniformly across the United States as first responders and juvenilejustice struggles to identify the victims and respond within a system ill-equipped to protect the victimsof domestic minor sex trafficking. When the victim of trafficking is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanentresident minor they often are placed in juvenile detention facilities or sent back to a home from whichthey are easily found and re-trafficked by their trafficker. In Clark County, Nevada (includes LasVegas), an entire court docket is scheduled one day each week to hear the cases of juveniles chargedwith prostitution; in 20 months, 226 juveniles from across the country were adjudicated by the court forprostitution/prostitution-related offenses committed in Las Vegas. In the first half of 2007, 12.8% ofthe females committed to Caliente Youth Center had been adjudicated for the offense of solicitation forprostitution, a misdemeanor offense. 9In Kansas City, Missouri law enforcement were pushed to utilize mental health holds to place victimsin a domestic minor sex trafficking case in a psychiatric unit as a means of preventing their return totheir trafficker. 10 This placement is not ideal and represents the lengths law enforcement must go to inthe absence of an appropriate, protective facility for the victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Apreferable process with a similar outcome would be the use of a protective hold for the victims which8TVPA, 221 USC 7105 §107(c)(1)(a), (b), (c).9Kennedy, M. Alexis, Ph.D. and Nicole Joey Pucci, M.A. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas,Nevada (Shared Hope International: August 2007), pgs. 63, 132.10Wade, Kris. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Independence, Missouri (Shared Hope International:April 2008), pg. 95.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 7would ensure the classification as victim for the child.The pervasive misunderstanding of the definition of human trafficking at critical leadership levels offirst responder organizations and agencies across the nation is preventing progress in enforcement ofthe federal and state laws criminalizing the sex trafficking of domestic minors. Furthermore, the generalpublic has not yet come to understand that U.S. citizen and lawful permanent residents under age 18who are engaged in commercial sex acts are victims of trafficking. With vast misperception that humantrafficking requires movement of the victims across a border or a state line, many cases of domestic minorsex trafficking are going unrecognized and therefore undocumented as trafficking. This misperception isperpetuated by the continuing failure of the U.S. Congress to appropriate the funds authorized for servicesand shelter for domestic sex trafficking victims, though funding for victim services has been appropriatedfor services for the foreign-born human trafficking victims.Who are the Traffickers?Traffickers, also known as pimps, 11 are those persons who profit by receiving cash or other benefits inexchange for the sexual use of a minor by another person. Shared Hope International found familymembers, friends, and “boyfriends,” as well as strangers who befriend juveniles and come to dominatethem, operating as traffickers/pimps of minors in every location researched. Notably, minors inprostitution nearly always have a pimp — someone who they view as their protector but who in fact ismanaging and benefitting from the sexual exploitation of the child.The FBI apprehended a Missouri man at a Niagara Falls, New York, shopping center. He waswanted by authorities for sexually exploiting a girl through various means, including training herto become a dominatrix, over the course of more than five years starting when the girl was just12 years old. Authorities charged the man with seven felony counts of commercial sex traffickingof a minor in Missouri. The mother of the girl was also charged as actively complicit in the sextrafficking of her daughter. U.S. Attorney John F. Wood of Missouri noted that this case wasunprecedented because the mother was charged with sex trafficking her own child. 12A staff member at WestCare Nevada, a shelter for at-risk youth in Las Vegas, suggests that statisticsunderestimate the number of familial traffickers; potentially as many as 30% of domestically traffickedminors who receive services through WestCare Nevada are exploited by family members. 13 Intervieweesfrom all 10 assessed locations recounted cases in which parents or guardians have acted as traffickers/pimps; however, there was a stated reluctance and/or lack of awareness to view such exploitation as sextrafficking. This was particularly true when there was a non-monetary exchange as part of the transaction,such as a mother allowing a person to have sex with her daughter for drugs. 1411These two terms are used interchangeably when discussing the commercial sexual exploitation of children as, under federallaw, any person profiting through the commercial sexual exploitation of a child (under the age of 18) is defined as a humantrafficker.12U.S. Department of Justice Office of the United States Attorney Western District of Missouri Press Release, May 12, 2008.http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2008/barkau.ind.htm. Accessed on April 9, 2009. Also, Charlton, B. “Man, womanindicted in sale of child for sex acts.” The Associated Press. May 13, 2008.13Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg.106.14Struble, Linda. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — San Antonio, Texas, (Shared Hope International:May 2008), pg. 42.

8Shared Hope InternationalIn 2006, the mother of a 14-year-old girl in Louisiana, allowed a 39-year-old crack dealer, HenryLee Bass, to have sex with her daughter in exchange for drugs. The mother was arrested andcharged with cruelty to a juvenile. Upon the mother’s arrest, she allowed her daughter to remainin Bass’ custody, who continued to supply the juvenile with crack and sexually abuse her. Bass, aregistered sex offender, introduced the minor to another man who also provided the minor withcrack and sexually exploited her. The two men then made an arrangement with Roy Myers topurchase sex with the juvenile for $300. Myers was later arrested. 15Another manifestation of DMST involves a trafficker/pimp who poses as a “boyfriend” who builds aromantic relationship with the youth. Through a series of calculated and methodical stages, the traffickerestablishes trust, and psychologically and physically bonds with the victim through a web of deceit andlies, securing her allegiance — even after the relationship changes drastically into one of violence, torture,and abuse. According to a survey completed by the Clark County Public Defenders Office-JuvenileDivision, of the 103 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related offenses, 59 indicated that they werecurrently under control of a pimp, and another 30 stated that they had “boyfriends.” 16“I was 14 years old, and the way the pimp came at me was that at first I didn’t even know he was apimp. He came at me like a boyfriend. Yes, he was an older boyfriend but he cared about me.... Sixmonths later he told me ‘Let’s run away together. We can have a beautiful house and family.’ And Idid believe him, and we ran away, and then the story changed and I met the other girls that he hadin his stable. And I had to go out every night and work the streets — the alternative was being gangrapedby a group of pimps while everyone watched.” 17— Tina Frundt, Founder of Courtney’s House,and Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingU.S. Citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident Children are the Victims of Sex TraffickingAmerican children are victims of sex trafficking within the United States. Domestic child victims tendto be easy targets and carry less risk for the traffickers and buyers than adults and foreign nationals. Forexample, in San Antonio, Texas, a human trafficker named Timothy Gereb had an order for 10 female sexslaves to sell to a brothel in Louisiana. 18 Gereb and his accomplices were only able to traffic two girls fromMexico, so he began to recruit local girls from San Antonio to fill his quota. He was apprehended, pledguilty, and was sentenced to 10 years. 19 This case demonstrates a potential trend of traffickers to view localyouth as viable product in the criminal market of commercial sexual exploitation as the recruitment and15Bayhi-Gennaro, Jennifer. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana(Shared Hope International: April 2008), pg.14, citing Fitch, E. “Grand Jury Indicts Murder Suspect,” The News-Star. June14, 2006.16Clark County Public Defender — Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses(July 2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.17Tina Frundt, Personal Interview. Shared Hope International, February 15, 2006.18Struble, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — San Antonio, Texas, pg. 63-4.19U.S. Department of Justice Press Release, “Man Sentenced to 10 Years For Role in San Antonio Sex-trafficking Ring,”March 12, 2008. http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/08_crt_202.html. Accessed on April 8, 2009. Also, San AntonioExpress-News, “Man pleads guilty in sex trafficking case,” February 25, 2008. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA022508_pleadeal_en_29c247ef_html30618.html. Accessed on April 8, 2009.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 9transportation of human trafficking victims across borders becomes increasingly difficult and dangerous.Domestic child victims of sex trafficking come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, geographicareas, and ethnicities. A 2007 New York State Office of Children and Family Services report states thatin New York City, sexually exploited youth tended to be “female and black, having sex with strangers inhotel rooms or outside.” In contrast, “Upstate, the youth were younger, more likely to be white, and wereoften exploited at home by adult friends or acquaintances.” 20 In the Midwest, a child protection servicesofficer in Kansas City related that approximately 84 child victims of prostitution had been identified since2000 in Jackson County, Missouri. Of those 84 victims, 10 were local to Jackson County. Ages rangedfrom 12 to 16 years old. 21Many victims are youth in the child welfare system and/or runaways, but some are recruited from middleclasshomes as well. A common factor is the history of child physical and sexual abuse in the home orthe extended family. In Las Vegas, Nevada, statistics indicate that from January 2004 through December2006, nearly 41% of juveniles suspected of being involved in prostitution-related offenses had been victimsof sexual assault. Additionally, 21% were victims of familial molestation. 22 However, the one singlevulnerability factor making domestic youth targets for sex trafficking is simple: their age.Terminology as a guide.“Domestic minor sex trafficking” is the term coined by Shared Hope International to identify thecommercial sexual exploitation of children under 18 years of age who are U.S. citizens or lawfulpermanent residents. The importance of the term “domestic minor sex trafficking” (DMST) is multidimensional.Language is a vital element to the human experience. It allows people to communicate arange of thoughts, emotions, and images in a single word; therefore, the labels placed on victims can havea profound impact on how society views the victims and how the victims view themselves. Use of a termthat accurately defines the nature of the crime and the victim status is critical to direct attention to thevictim; rather than calling the crime “child prostitution,” the application of the term “domestic minor sextrafficking” refers to the real crime being committed in which a child is sexually exploited for an exchangeof value and clarifies this child’s status as a victim of a crime.In using the term “domestic minor sex trafficking victim” to describe America’s most vulnerable victimsof sex trafficking, Shared Hope International has sought to remove these children from their perceivedand often assigned delinquent status. Research has shown that these are complex victims who requirespecialized care; while they do not often act like traditional sex abuse victims, they are not “bad kids”and they have not chosen this lifestyle. Instead, they are a complex victim group that requires specializedtreatment, shelter, and understanding.20Gragg, Frances and Ian Petta, Haidee Bernstein, Karla Eisen, Liz Quinn. “New York Prevalence Study of CommerciallySexually Exploited Children Final Report” (New York State Office of Children and Family Services: WESTAT), April 18,2007, pg. 87.21Wade, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Independence, Missouri, pg. 37.22Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 97, citing STOP statistics, ViceSection, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) STOP Program (January 1994 — July 2007).

10Shared Hope International“I always felt like a criminal. I never felt like a victim at all. Victims don’t do time in jail, they workon the healing process. I was a criminal because I spent time in jail. I definitely felt like nothing morethan a criminal.” 23— “Tonya,” Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingLabels also allow us to communicate a situation or series of experiences. Encapsulating the crime of domesticminor sex trafficking in a single label — Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking — provides a way to communicate thatsituation through the numerous agencies, persons, and organizations that will inevitably be part of obtainingrestoration and justice on behalf of the victim. Currently, child victims of sex trafficking are misidentified throughthe use of a variety of labels, such as “child prostitutes,” “juvenile prostitutes,” or “juvenile delinquents.” At best,the child may be labeled a victim of sex abuse or molestation. However, none of these labels capture the truth ofthe child’s victimization through commercial sexual exploitation. Utilizing a single term will allow the victims andthe crime to be systematically tracked in the United States resulting in the proper identification and status as avictim of crime.The Problem with the Term “Child Prostitution”The term “child prostitution” implies a concept of choice. It evokes a preconceived notion of whathappens to these youth and the circumstances surrounding a situation of commercial sex acts. Thus,when the term “prostitute” is used in conjunction with a child and a violent crime, those same elementsare conveyed inappropriately to the victim, the buyer, the trafficker, and the community. Prostitution alsoconveys a stigma that victims of domestic minor sex trafficking are fully aware of and experience. Minorsexploited through prostitution report severe stigma emanating from first responders as well as from otherchildren. In fact, this stigma has resulted in child sex trafficking victims being preyed upon in shelters,juvenile justice facilities, and group homes by other children and even staff as the minors are viewed as“promiscuous” or simply “just prostitutes.” In Dallas, this stigmatization is confronted directly by the lawenforcement officers who train the officers in proper identification of prostituted youth as victims. 24Front line responders have found domestic minor sex trafficking victims more readily disclosing abouttheir exploitation when they are addressed as victims of a crime. Furthermore, having a single label for thecrime allows multiple agencies, communities, and regions to effectively track, research, and intervene in asingle coordinated effort.“We should be setting the standard for how we talk about this issue, and if we continue as a field totalk about this as an issue of child prostitution, if we continue to call children who are victimized, whocan’t legally give consent, who are under the control of adults — if we continue to call them prostitutes… we continue to perpetuate this message, right? This message of, ‘Well, you’re kind of a victim, butthere’s a level of choice involved.’” 25— Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director, GEMS23“Tonya,” Personal Interview. Shared Hope International, December 13, 2007.24Hay, Nicole, M.A. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas (Shared Hope International: July2008), pg. 16.25Remarks by Rachel Lloyd, M.A., Founder and Executive Director, GEMS. Shared Hope International National TrainingConference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file withauthors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 11Scope of the problem.The Number of Youth who fit the Definition of a Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking VictimStarting in October 2006, Shared Hope International embarked on a study seeking to assess the scope ofdomestic minor sex trafficking, the identification of victims, and how these victims were gaining accessto services. The assessments took place in ten U.S. locations and were funded through a grant from theU.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The study wasconcluded in September 2008 with ten location-specific assessments released. The assessments strived todetermine credible numbers of minors who qualify as domestic minor sex trafficking victims, whetheror not they are or were identified as such, especially prostituted children. Subsequent assessments havebeen undertaken in other locations in the U.S adding further evidence that domestic minor sex traffickingis widespread. However, an accurate count of the number of victims of domestic minor sex traffickingwas not available — the lack of tracking, the common misidentification, the frequent plea agreements ordeclined prosecutions, and the stove-piped communications among and within law enforcement, juvenilejustice, and service providers prevented the capture of the complete picture.The inability to obtain a true count of the numbers of victims of child sex trafficking stymies advocates inpursuing funding and policy improvements to protect the children. Unfortunately, due to a uniform lackof awareness, identification measures, and tracking protocol found in all locations, the numbers collecteddo not reflect the true numbers of domestic minor sex trafficking victims in each location. Rather, thenumbers demonstrate with certainty that domestic minor sex trafficking is occurring and in sufficientlysizable numbers to merit the public’s and the community leadership’s prioritization in fighting the crime ofdomestic minor sex trafficking.Table 1: Number of Suspected Child Sex Trafficking Victims by LocationResearch SiteStateNumber of suspectedDMST VictimsTime PeriodDallas Texas 150 2007San Antonio/Bexar County Texas 3-4 2005-2008Fort Worth/Tarrant County Texas 29 2000-2008Las Vegas Nevada 5,122 1994-2007Independence/Kansas City area Missouri 227 2000-2008Baton Rouge/New Orleans area Louisiana 105 2000-2007Saipan/Rota/Tinian 1 2008Salt Lake City Utah 83 1996-2008Buffalo/Erie County New York 74-84 2000-2008Clearwater/Tampa Bay area Florida 36 2000-2008*Due to a lack of formal tracking protocols between agencies, some DMST victims may be duplicated within a cityand some may have not been included in this count. These numbers were obtained through an interview process inaddition to official government records when available.

12Shared Hope InternationalThe targeted timeframe for data collected by Shared Hope International was set at 2000 to present tocorrelate with the passage of the TVPA. Some agencies provided numbers that began before the timeframeof the TVPA but the numbers could not be separated out by year. The numbers are substantiated by otherefforts across the country. For example, the Innocence Lost Initiative founded in 2003 as a joint effort ofthe FBI, the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and the National Center forMissing and Exploited Children has recovered 670 children from its inception through February 2009 with36 special agents focused on the issue and 32 task forces involving federal, state, and local law enforcementagencies working together with U.S. Attorney’s Offices. 26 Though the number is low when compared to thescope of the problem, it is a dramatic increase from previous attempts to address the issue. 27Additionally, WestCare Nevada, a homeless youth shelter and rehabilitation center in Las Vegas, identified400 domestic sex trafficked minors through outreach in May 2007 alone, 28 and the New York State Officeof Children and Family Services reported in 2007 that an estimated 2,253 domestically sex trafficked youthare in New York City on an annual basis and 399 in the upstate counties. 29 Veronica’s Voice in KansasCity, Missouri, has provided assistance to a total of 799 clients exploited in the commercial sex industrysince 2000 — of whom 140 were identified as either former or current victims of child sex trafficking.Currently, Veronica’s Voice is providing services to four DMST victims, the youngest of whom is 12 andthe oldest 16 years old. 30“The stark reality is that the supply is never-ending … I mean, that little girl who started as arunaway on the streets in Washington State and ended up on the streets of Miami Beach as aprostitute is way too typical … There is an endless supply — and it is almost surreal to have thesewords leave my mouth — endless supply of victims. But that’s the stark reality.” 31— Andrew Oosterbaan, Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section,U.S. Department of JusticeArrest and Prosecution of TraffickersThe federal human trafficking crime carries heavy penalties. If a trafficking crime results in a victim’sdeath or if the crime includes kidnapping, an attempted kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, attemptedaggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the trafficker could be sentenced to life in prison. Traffickersof children under the age of 14 or of any minor through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes ofcommercial sex acts can be imprisoned for not less than 15 years, up to life. If the victim was a childbetween the age of 14 and 18 and the sex trafficking did not involve force, fraud, or coercion, the traffickercan be sentenced to not less than 10 years, up to life in prison. 3226FBI website. http://www.fbi.gov/innolost/innolost.htm. Federal Bureau of Investigation Press Release, “Forty-Eight ChildrenRecovered in Operation Cross Country III,” February 23, 2009. http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel09/crosscountry_022309.htm. Accessed on April 13, 2009.27Remarks by Special Agent Chris Johnson, FBI. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the SexTrafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.28Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pgs.2, 7.29Gragg, Petta, Bernstein, Eisen, and Quinn. “New York Prevalence Study of Commercially Sexually Exploited ChildrenFinal Report,” pgs. 23-4.30Wade, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report, pg. 41.31Remarks by Andrew Oosterbaan. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking ofAmerica’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.3218 USC §1591(b).

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 13These federal sentences surpass most state sentences for sexual servitude, commercial sexual exploitation,human trafficking, or other state laws under which a trafficker of children could be charged. However,the deterrence value of the TVPA’s heavy sentences is not being fully utilized as state law enforcement andprosecutors continue to apply more familiar laws — commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC)and other sexual abuse laws — many of which carry lesser penalties.Nonetheless, the deterrence of the harsh sentencing guidelines may not be enough alone to overcome thelucrative and low-risk nature of the crime. The sex trafficking of American children is still considered by somecriminals to be low risk, as first responders are not receiving the training and awareness needed to identify asituation of sex trafficking. As a result, a trafficker of domestic minors is often not identified as such or mayplead to lesser charges. Interviews with prosecutors revealed that child victim-friendly trial mechanisms, such asusing closed circuit television for testimony to avoid the in-court confrontation of a child and her trafficker, arenot being utilized. One reason is tactical: prosecutors feel the jury will connect with the victim better if they seeher in person. In addition, the constitutionality of this mechanism is an open question in light of the decisionin Crawford v. Washington, a federal court decision holding that testimonial statements made outside of courtproceedings are not admissible unless the person who made the statement is unavailable for testimony at thetrial and the defense has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the declarant. 33 One study done on childsexual exploitation cases from 1998 to 2005 found prosecutors tended to plea bargain the CSEC cases to avoidputting the child victim through the trial. While the plea bargain tendencies may be intended to protect thechild victim, some argue that this may also in fact not be beneficial for the child victim who can be empoweredthrough the trial process if done with the proper support and counseling. 34Further complicating the situation, when cases of domestic minor sex trafficking are mislabeled asprostitution of minors, then traditional state pimping and pandering laws are often used. These laws canhave significantly lower punishments. For example, in Salt Lake City, plea deals with traffickers/pimps ofminors varied but the average length of a sentence was just six months. 35Lastly, a recent study of federal prosecutions of commercial sexual exploitation of children cases acrossthe country from 1998 to 2005 disturbingly revealed nearly 60% of CSEC cases involving prostitution ofa minor presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Offices were declined for prosecution. Admittedly, the caseloadof federal prosecutors more than doubled in the eight-year timeframe of the study; however the 60%declination rate is still high when compared to other federal offenses, such as drug trafficking (15%declined) and weapons charges (26% declined). 36 Though this number has been reportedly cut in recentyears with the increased involvement of several entities within the U.S. Department of Justice, state lawenforcement in most assessed locations reported frustration with investigating the cases of domestic minorsex trafficking which were subsequently declined.33Wade, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Independence, Missouri, pg. 55, citing Crawford v.Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).34Small, Kevonne and William Adams, Colleen Owens, Kevin Roland. “An Analysis of Federally Prosecuted CommercialSexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Cases since the Passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Actof 2000: Final Report” (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, February 2008), pg. 57.35Snow, Melissa. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah (Shared Hope International:August 2008), pg. 79.36Small and Adams, Owens, Roland. “Final Report,” pg. 22.

14Shared Hope InternationalThere are many laws covering the prostitution, pornography, and sexual exploitation and abuse whichcan be applied in a relevant case of domestic minor sex trafficking. The federal laws that are applicableto prosecuting perpetrators can carry penalties which are substantially greater than state laws. Under theTVPA, trafficking of a minor carries a maximum life imprisonment sentence and a mandatory minimumsentence of 15 years if the child was younger than 14, and 10 years if the child was 14 to 17 years old.Therefore, it is critical that these cases are charged under the federal laws and prosecuted by the federalprosecutors more regularly to achieve the greatest deterrence.Table 2: Federal Laws Related to Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingFederal Law Minimum Sentence Maximum Sentence18 U.S.C.§ 2423(a) — Transportationof a minor with intent for minor toengage in criminal sexual activity18 U.S.C. §2422 — Coercion andenticement (transportation forprostitution or other criminal sexualactivity)10 years Life10 years LifeTVPA 18 U.S.C.§1591 — Sextrafficking of children or by force,fraud, or coercion18 U.S.C. §2251 — Sexualexploitation of children15 years (child is under 14)10 years (between 14-17)15 years25 years35 years30 yearsLife (child under 14 or under 18 withforce, fraud, or coercion)Life (child between 14-17 and noforce, fraud, or coercion used)30 years (first offense)50 years (one prior conviction)Life (two or more prior convictions)Life (if caused the death of the victimin the course of the crime) or sentenceof death18 U.S.C. §2251A — Selling or buyingof children30 years Life18 U.S.C. § 2252 — Certain activitiesrelated to material involved involvingthe sexual exploitation of minors18 U.S.C. § 2252A — Certainactivities related to materialconstituting or containing childpornography18 U.S.C. § 1466A — Obscene visualrepresentations of sexual abuse ofchildren5 years15 yearsNone10 years5 years15 yearsNone10 yearsNone10 years20 years40 years (if prior conviction)10 years (possession of pornography)20 years (if prior convictions)20 years40 years (if prior conviction)10 years (possession of pornography)20 years (if prior conviction)10 years20 years (if prior conviction)While state laws may vary, federal laws are consistent across states. As such, law enforcement officersand prosecutors report a preference for taking cases of domestic minor sex trafficking to the federal

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 15level when possible. 37 Several landmark cases have been tried through U.S. Attorney’s Offices. In theSouthern District of Florida, defendant Justin Evans pled guilty in 2006 to trafficking local girls inthe Miami area for commercial sexual exploitation, namely prostitution. 38 This was the first federalconviction of intrastate domestic minor sex trafficking — meaning the trafficking never took theyoung victims outside of their home area and the victims did not cross a state line. The convictionof Don L. Elbert II, in Kansas City, Missouri, followed shortly on May 14, 2007. 39 This case alsoinvolved the sex trafficking of juveniles within their home area. A Jesse Herd transported his 14-yearoldstepdaughter from Kansas to Kansas City, Missouri, where he sold her to adult men for sex,operating from the Exotic City strip club in Kansas City. In his guilty plea, Herd admitted thatthe abuse started in 2004 when he began driving around with the 14-year-old looking for men whowanted to have sex with her. Herd was prosecuted in federal court in Kansas. 40Prosecutors reported that when considering whether to pursue charges of domestic minor sex traffickingagainst a perpetrator, they consider the level of victim cooperation as well as the seriousness of the crime,including the length/duration of the abuse, the number of occurrences of the abuse, the number of victims,the degree of threat or coercion used, whether alcohol or drugs were used in the coercion of the victim(s),and other aggravating factors.37Remarks by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Cordes. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the SexTrafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.38U.S. v. Evans, 476 F.3d 1176 (2007).39U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorney Western District of Missouri Press Release, “KC ManSentenced for Recruiting Minors for Prostitution,” January 10, 2008. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2008/elbert.sen.htm. Accessed on April 14, 2009.40U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation for the District of Kansas Press Release, “Kansas City ManPleads Guilty, Agrees to 18-Year Sentence for Sexual Acts Involving Teenaged Girl.” Nov. 5, 2007. http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/sexacts110507.htm. Accessed on April 18, 2008.

16Shared Hope InternationalChapter 2: The Business of Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingThe marketplace of victimization operates according to the economic laws of supply and demand,much like any legitimate market. As in any market, supply and demand for commercial sexualservices are correlated; supply, while it can and will affect the market structure, increases to meeta growing demand for sexual services throughout the world. Evidence suggests that supply isbecoming younger in response to buyers’ demands for youth due to perceptions of healthiness andvulnerability. 41The sex trafficking of U.S. children is driven by demand for the commercial sex acts they perform. Thesupply of women and children in the sex industry serves as the fuel for this criminal slave trade. Buyersof commercial sex services present the demand, traffickers move victims like products to the markets tosatisfy the demand, and facilitators allow the trade to occur in a myriad of ways. As the demand increases,traffickers must increase the supply of victims. 42 The buyer views the victim as a dehumanized productfor immediate consumption and disposal. If buyers were not seeking commercial sexual services, then sextrafficking would cease to be a profitable venture.“I was watching the stock market last night, and I thought, you know, just from a purely cost-benefitanalysis, investing in child sexual exploitation, as an exploiter, is just an incredible investment … Itcosts nothing to do it … and they’ll [the victims] just keep bringing in the money … It’s sickeningreally.” 43— Sharmin Bock, Deputy District Attorney and head of Human Exploitationand Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, Alameda County, CaliforniaIn a sexually charged society that both encourages promiscuity and covets the innocence of youth, itfollows that the demand for young victims will rise to meet the cultural glorification of underage sexuality.An example of the demand effect created by buyers can be found in the activities surrounding large events,such as the Sundance Film Festival held in Salt Lake City, the Ultimate Fighting Championships held inLas Vegas each year, and the Super Bowl held in different cities each year. Law enforcement noted thatduring these events traffickers move victims into the city in response to the expected increased demandresulting in a higher incidence rate of adults and minors arrested for prostitution in both locations. 44In Atlanta, Georgia, a study was completed in 2005 on the incidence of domestic minor sex trafficking inthe city. 45 The study mapped geographic locations where the sex trafficking of minors was taking place.41DEMAND.: A Comparative Examination of Sex Tourism and Trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States,(Shared Hope International: July 2007), pg. 15.42Id. at pg. 1.43Remarks by Sharmin Bock. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth(Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.44Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 71; DEMAND., (Shared HopeInternational: July 2007), pg. 71.45Priebe, Alexandra and Cristen Suhr, “Hidden in Plain View: the Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Girls in Atlanta.” (Atlanta,Georgia: Atlanta Office of the Mayor, 2005).

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 17The results showed high concentrations of commercial sexual activity in areas where youth are present,such as malls and schools, but an extraordinarily high number of identified commercial sex activity wassituated around adult entertainment venues, which includes strip clubs, adult video stores, etc. This studydemonstrates the power that demand has in the business of domestic minor sex trafficking. 46Who are the buyers?The buyers of sex from juveniles can be anyone — professionals, students, tourists, military personnel,a family member. Predators can be individuals that interact with children in the regular course of a day.Many predators are created or encouraged through online solicitations, temptations, and exploitation,leading them ultimately to act out the visual exploitation through physical sexual exploitation ofchildren. This diversity of the buyer makes it particularly difficult to identify perpetrators. For example,Hillsborough Kids, Inc., a private foster care service in Florida, has been involved with several casesinvolving caregivers producing pornography of their child, mothers being paid for the sexual abuse oftheir child, and one case of a mother selling her child to another trafficker. 47The diversity of buyers allows them to blend into communities, making them difficult to identify. In theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Larry Hillblom, one of the founders of DHLWorldwide Express, would locate and pay mothers of prepubescent girls in several countries to contacthim after their daughters’ first menstruation so he could return to deflower them. The victims were knownas “Cherry Girls,” and the practice allegedly was not limited to Hillblom. The mothers were paid for thesexual exploitation of their daughters; the mothers fit the definition of a trafficker/pimp, accepting moneyfor sex with their young daughters. Allegedly some of the “Cherry Girls” were CNMI residents. 48Buyers can also be situational in that they believe, assume, do not ask or simply do not care whether aprostituted female is an adult or a minor. They can find themselves in an environment offering commercial sexand they avail themselves of it. This may be the case with U.S. military troops, such as those in Saipan whichserves as a rest and recreation spot due to its proximity to military bases in Guam and surrounding areas. Inaddition, military contractors providing equipment storage and readiness positioning just off the Saipan coastmake regular shore visits to Saipan. Both are reported buyers of commercial sex. Participants in the CNMIassessment stated, however, that “military is not the problem,” and that they have “the prostitution problem24/7 without the ships … the buyers are mostly tourists and some locals.” 49 Exploitation crimes cannot belinked solely to sex tourism, or visiting troops; what makes these crimes so disturbing is that the buyers can bewithin communities, from any background, and can go relatively unnoticed by those around them.One justification made by buyers of commercial sex is that the exchange actually “helps” the victim byproviding her income; however, this “help” leaves the victim with a lifetime of physical and psychological46Remarks by Stephanie Davis, Policy Advisor on Women’s Issues for Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Shared Hope InternationalNational Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on filewith authors.47Reid, Joan, MHLC. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida (Shared Hope International:January 2008), pg. 43.48Vardaman, Samantha, J.D. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — The Commonwealth of the Northern MarianaIslands (Shared Hope International: May 2008), pg. 14.49Id., pg. 67.

18Shared Hope Internationaltrauma. Furthermore, perpetrators are often systematic abusers of youth. For instance, at a homelessyouth shelter in Salt Lake City, girls report regular solicitations by men at least 20 years their senior. 50One form of domestic minor sex trafficking that is frequently overlooked is referred to as “survival sex.”This describes the situation of children exchanging sex acts for something the child needs to survive,such as food, water, or clothing. Runaway and homeless youth are at extremely high risk for this type ofexploitation. Though some argue that there is a mutual benefit inherent in this type of commercial sexualexploitation, the fact that an adult is exercising control over a vulnerable youth to secure a sex act makesit a crime. In fact, a survey of runaway and homeless youth in Salt Lake City in February 2008 found thatof the 32% of youth who had been victimized through “survival sex,” 50% indicated that they had beensought out and solicited by the adult perpetrator. 51In New Orleans, groups of nomadic homeless youths known as “gutter punks” gather regularly at “thewall” located at the end of Elysian Fields by the Mississippi River on Thursday through Saturday nights.In the winter, about 30 of the average 100 people at “the wall” include vulnerable runaway girls who havealigned with a gang of tough guys to feel protected. Reportedly, the gutter punk groups will sexuallyexploit these girls through prostitution for money and basic needs.An added danger for the homeless youth at “the wall” is in the form of predators from outside thehomeless population. The sexual exploitation is not limited to female victims, but also can includemales. Interviewees recalled a man who frequented the food lines sponsored by the Homeless AssistanceUnit of the New Orleans Police Department at “the wall.” He would recruit young boys to work for hisconstruction business, providing some minors with shelter and a job. Later it was told by the other teensat the wall that the work would turn into “some kind of sex thing.” These boys had also received servicesat Covenant House, a service provider for homeless youth in New Orleans with which the HomelessAssistance Unit works in partnership, but were suspended from the shelter for repeatedly violating shelterrules. This man at “the wall” preyed on the population of teenage boys who were most vulnerable and hadalmost nowhere else to turn. 52Closely related to survival sex is the situation of “couch surfing” which is the term used for a homelessor runaway youth’s temporary utilization of the apartment or home of a friend, family member, oracquaintance for a place to sleep. This occurs when the resident of the apartment or home requires thechild to engage in a sex act in order to stay. 53 For instance, Buffalo assessment participants cited “couchsurfing” as the most common situation in which minors are commercially sexually exploited.50Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 56.51Id., pg. 55.52Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, pg. 25-6.53Andolina Scott, Karen, MSW. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Buffalo, New York (Shared HopeInternational: July 2008), pg. 37.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 19The Role of Technology“With the advent of the Internet, the problem with child pornography has exploded. Ten years ago, wethought that the problem had but disappeared. The Supreme Court of the United States in the early ’80ssaid that child pornography is not protected speech, it’s child abuse, and as a result it disappeared fromthe shelves of America’s bookstores … the adult bookstores. It was cracked down on, in terms of itsdistribution through the mail, so that it had all but disappeared. Then came the Internet, and with thatsense of anonymity and the ability of people to connect with each other, like-minded individuals, andtrade images, the problem with child pornography has exploded.” 54— Ernie Allen, National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenThe Internet and other technological advancements have opened an avenue to commercial sexualexploitation previously unattainable by most people. Individuals viewing child pornography have foundcomfort in the cyber-community which brought justification and normalcy to their thoughts and desires,bonding the group together. “Anyone can be exposed to child pornography online very, very easily ...we’re growing sexual abusers. They’re growing. They’re being cultivated and nurtured and watered andfed on the Internet.” 55 This anonymity and community aspect to the Internet makes it a powerful tool fortraffickers, buyers, and facilitators.Before the Internet, buyers had to leave their homes to purchase pornographic materials, havephotographs developed, or seek out other methods of indulging in their exploitative fantasies. Today,the widespread availability and affordability of digital cameras and video cameras, as well as thetechnology to develop film at home, makes the production and distribution of child pornography easy andinexpensive. Much of this homemade pornography is finding its way onto the Internet as well. With nearly70% of Americans accessing the Internet, the accessibility to commercial sex markets on the Internet isstaggering. 56“65% of the johns [buyers] that go on the Internet are more responsive if the ads have age descriptorslike “young” or “barely legal” attached to them — 65% are more responsive to that.” 57— Kaffie McCullough, A Future. Not A Past/Juvenile Justice FundFurthermore, the resources buyers and traffickers have access to can expand the forms of exploitation towhich youth are exposed, as reported in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands where highpoweredtechnology normally used for scuba diving and other tourist activities was purported to be usedto make pornography of local youth. 5854Remarks by Ernie Allen. Shared Hope International 10th Anniversary Event, November 15, 2008. Transcript on file with authors.55Remarks by A. Oosterbaan. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.56DEMAND., (Shared Hope International: July 2007), pg. 108.57Remarks by Kaffie McCullough, A Future. Not A Past/Juvenile Justice Fund, Atlanta, Georgia. Shared Hope International NationalTraining Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file withauthors.58Vardaman, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pg. 22.

20Shared Hope InternationalDeterring demand.Buyers of commercial sex acts from an adult or a minor typically receive little or no penalties. Theprosecution of buyers is egregiously low and those engaged in the purchase of sex acts with minors faceminimal risk of criminal repercussions. Children exploited through prostitution report they typically aregiven a quota by their trafficker/pimp of 10 to 15 buyers per night, though some service providers reportgirls having been sold to as many as 45 buyers in a night at peak demand times, such as during a sportsevent or convention. Utilizing a conservative estimate, a domestic minor sex trafficking victim who isrented for sex acts with five different men per night, for five nights per week, for an average of five years,would be raped by 6,000 buyers during the course of her victimization through prostitution. Most buyersof sexual services from minors receive little or no punishment, while many of the child victims are arrestedand charged with the crime committed against them.One story is particularly revealing. Police in Las Vegas approached a parked truck after observing it pickup a girl. The police report reflects that the 50-year-old man was observed with $45 in cash hanging fromhis pocket and lotion on his hands. The 12-year-old girl stated that he was paying her for sexual services.The police arrested the girl for prostitution and sent the man on his way. Later the juvenile public defenderpressed the issue with the prosecutor’s office and an arrest warrant was issued for the man but he was notable to be located. This was a crime of domestic minor sex trafficking, though to date only a few casesagainst buyers (“johns”) of commercial sex from a minor have been pursued under the federal law, andnone have yet resulted in a conviction. 59The demand for commercial sex acts with minors typically manifested through prostitution is notconsidered by the majority of law enforcement officers to be a main aspect of the problem of domesticminor sex trafficking. As a result, core strategies to investigate and pursue buyers of children are not inplace. In addition, law enforcement operations and investigations done at the local level are mainly focusedon buyers of adult commercial sex, therefore, frequently there is no disaggregated numbers of buyers ofsex from minors versus buyers of sex from adults. Buyers have also been recruited to testify in adult sextrafficking cases further insulating themselves from prosecution. 60One promising practice was found in Fort Worth, Texas, where prosecutors described a pending caseinvolving two buyers of sex with children. The abusers were arrested and charged on a local level withaggravated kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity, and prostitution. The prosecutors statedthat sexual assault of a minor (a second degree felony) or aggravated sexual assault of a minor (a firstdegree felony) charges may also be appropriate for buyers purchasing commercial sex from minors. Thesecharges carry punishments of incarceration for two to 20 years for the second degree felony, and five to 99years for the first degree felony. 6159Seven indictments were secured from a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, and one in Seattle, Washington, in the firstquarter of 2009.60Andolina Scott, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Buffalo, New York, pg. 42.61Stevens, Kelli, M.A. and Raymond A. Eve, Ph.D., Brittany Smith, M.A. and Robert L. Bing, Ph.D., Domestic Minor SexTrafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 57-8.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 21“The [federal] transporting or the travel statutes … give you the ability to charge … ‘ johns’ [buyers] oranybody on the outside who is transporting the minor, moving the minor, across state lines or throughthe highway [or] traveling to engage in sex with a minor.” 62— Alexandra Gelber, Assistant Deputy Chief of the Child Exploitationand Obscenity Section, U.S. Department of JusticeDue to the lack of initiative against buyers and the difficulty in prosecuting them, prosecutors havebecome creative in charging buyers or have initiated new laws to fix the gap. For example, in California,Section 675 of the California Penal Code was passed which provides an additional term of imprisonmentin the state prison of one year if prosecutors can prove that the sex offense committed with a minor was inexchange for money or other consideration. 63Arrests of buyers for purchasing children for sex acts through prostitution are fewer than arrests of buyersof children exploited through other forms of domestic minor sex trafficking, especially pornography. Thedistinction between types of commercial sexual exploitation of children is a false one as research indicatesthat perpetrators of sex acts with children do not limit themselves to one form. Rather, these perpetratorsengage in abusive behavior in a multitude of ways that have profound traumatic and dangerousconsequences for these child victims and the community at large.While buyers are infrequently prosecuted for commercial sex acts with a minor, there have been caseswhere pornography has helped form a case against a perpetrator. Assessments conducted by Shared HopeInternational found that prosecutions of buyers of commercial sex with minors were initiated primarilyin relation to child pornography, enticement, or sexual abuse and neglect of a minor. Media reviewsconducted in each of the assessments consistently showed coverage of purchases of child pornography butvery little reporting on the purchase of sex acts from a child exploited in prostitution.Investigative Challenges to Arresting BuyersWhen a community is willing to pursue buyers of sex with children, there are investigative challengesthat must be overcome. The lack of innovative investigative methods and tools is a gap reported bylaw enforcement and prosecutors to Shared Hope International in each assessed location. Traditionalinvestigation methods to capture prostitution and solicitation involve the use of decoys — undercoverpolice officers — placed in prostitution zones to nab prospective johns. However, a barrier to the use ofthis technique exists because of the inability to legally place a minor as a decoy. This permits an automaticlegal defense by a buyer who can claim that he solicited an adult decoy. Thus, it is necessary that policeofficers interrupt a commercial transaction in progress with a minor in order to identify the buyer of a62Remarks by Alexandra Gelber. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth(Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.63Remarks by Marianne Barrett, Assistant District Attorney, San Francisco, California. Shared Hope International National TrainingConference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.Referencing California Penal Code, Part 1 — Crimes and Punishments, Title 16, §675, enhancing sentences for violations of PartI — Title 9. Crimes Against the Person Involving Sexual Assault, and Crimes Against Public Decency and Good Morals §§ 261.5(unlawful sexual intercourse with a child), 286 (sodomy of a child), 288 (lewd or lascivious acts on a child), 288a (oral copulationwith a child). http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/654-678.html. Accessed on April 15, 2009.

22Shared Hope Internationalprostituted child. It is rare that a commercial sex act is interrupted in progress. Nevertheless, even when itis, such as a case in Las Vegas in which a 12-year-old was arrested with a 50-year-old man, cash in plainsight, lotion on his hands, and a confession by the buyer, prosecutors tasked with prosecuting the juvenilefor prostitution had to push prosecutors aggressively to bring a case against the buyer. 64Law enforcement reported that a major challenge in identifying buyers lies in the difficulty in verifyingthe age of young women as minors. Age verification is made difficult by the widespread use of fraudulentidentification provided to the girls by the traffickers/pimps to establish their age as an adult. The firstarrest of a prostituted minor is critical for proper identification — if entered into the system as an adult,her identity is altered and subsequent arrests reinforce the false identity. Steps are being taken by theFBI through the development of a database which is accessible more broadly to law enforcement in anattempt to improve information sharing. The transient nature of the trafficking markets keeps traffickers/pimps below the radar of most law enforcement as they move with their victims from city to city evadingdetection and preventing the girls from becoming identified minors to law enforcement or serviceproviders. Often, sex trafficking cases cross jurisdictional lines making cooperation between local, state,and federal law enforcement necessary. 65 However, many local law enforcement agencies report they havenever pursued federal charges in cases involving the buyer in a domestic minor sex trafficking case. Thiswas noted to be a result of lack of knowledge of the federal law, lack of communication between local andfederal agencies, and/or lack of evidence sufficient to prove sex trafficking.“Despite the difficulties in identifying them, it is imperative to target ‘ johns.’ They might not want tocooperate, but they certainly do not want to go to jail and they should be identified, not only becausethey should be charged … but because you can use that charge and everything against them, also. Mostof them are married [and] everything else. Let them get you to the juveniles if you have to.” 66— Special Agent Chris Johnson, Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe anonymity of buyers presents one of the greatest challenges to investigation and arrest. For obviousreasons, victims often do not know or remember the buyers’ real names, addresses, or other identifyinginformation. This can be due to the trauma of the sexual exploitation the victim is undergoing or to theevasive techniques of the traffickers/pimps in orchestrating the commercial encounter with the buyer. TheSalt Lake City Police Department Vice Unit standardly checks call records of cell phones in possessionof arrested juveniles and arrested traffickers/pimps with the hope that the records will lead to identifyingbuyers. However, traffickers/pimps limit the interaction between a prostituted juvenile and a buyer. Unlikepornography which frequently leaves a financial trail that can be traced to the buyers, prostitution is doneon a cash basis and buyers frequently use fake names leaving law enforcement with limited evidence. 6764Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 54.65Reid, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida, pg. 25.66Remarks by C. Johnson. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.67Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 71.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 23Domestic minor sex trafficking has its own culture, rules, and “heroes.”Researchers and experts in the field report that trafficking of U.S. children is a well-established business.High demand for the commercial sexual exploitation of children created by buyers equates to largeprofit margins. It is not surprising then that as the trafficking of children becomes more profitable —sophisticated rules, culture, and a hierarchy surrounding the crime would emerge.“The Game”“The Game,” which is slang for the environment and established rules of trafficking/pimping, is handeddown to traffickers/pimps through various means. Several books written by self-proclaimed pimps withcriminal records are available describing how to manipulate and traffic women and children. The PimpGame: An Instructional Guide is one such book that can be purchased online at Amazon.com for theincredible price of $280. 68 The Pimp Game teaches aspiring traffickers how to successfully groom a childfor commercial sexual exploitation.“You’ll start to dress her, think for her, own her. If you and your victim are sexually active, slow itdown. After sex, take her shopping for one item. Hair and/or nails is fine. She’ll develop a feeling ofaccomplishment. The shopping after a month will be replaced with cash. The love making turns intoraw sex. She’ll start to crave the intimacy and be willing to get back into your good graces. After youhave broken her spirit, she has no sense of self value. Now pimp, put a price tag on the item you havemanufactured.” 69The language and rules of pimping recaptures the debilitating psychological and physical manipulationused by slave masters. Organized and sophisticated teaching methods are used to pass down the cultureand “rules of the game,” which are rules created by traffickers/pimps in order to best work together inan illegal business venture and avoid arrest by law enforcement. An example of one such rule is called“choosing up.” This rule dictates that a prostituted person who makes eye contact with another pimpbecomes “owned” by that pimp. If the original pimp wants his slave back, then he must pay a fee to thenew pimp. This fee is imposed ultimately on the errant prostituted girl who is then required to compensateher original pimp for the money he paid for her return — usually, a penalty charge is added to the fee forthe disrespect she showed to the pimp by looking at another pimp.Traffickers employ a common language to provide a basis of understanding and to facilitate transactionsbetween traffickers/pimps. Below is a sampling of terms used by pimps in the sex trafficking of children: 70• A “circuit” or “track” is a defined area known for prostitution activity. This can be the area arounda group of strip clubs and pornography stores, or a particular stretch of street. Within a county,it can be a series of cities that the traffickers move the exploited minors. It can also be a chain ofstates, such as the “Minnesota Pipeline” in which victims are moved through a series of states fromMinnesota to markets in New York.• A “ho line” is a loose network of communication between pimps, chiefly by phone, inter-city and68At . Accessed on April 20, 2008.69Royal, Mickey. The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide (Sharif Publishing: 1998), pgs. 64-5.70“Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth Video Viewing Guide.”Shared Hope International (2008). Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, pgs. 27-9.

24Shared Hope Internationalinterstate. The traffickers often use changing slang and code words to confound law enforcementalong the “circuit.” The “ho line” or network is used to trade, buy, and sell women and children forsex.• The “kiddie stroll” or “runway” is an area of the track featuring kids under 16, and often muchyounger.• The process of “seasoning” involves the combination of psychological manipulation, intimidation,gang rape and sodomy, beatings or deprivation of food and sleep, cutting off from family, friends,and other sources of support, and threatening or holding hostage of victims’ children. The purposeis to break down a victim’s resistance and ensure that she will do anything she is told.• A “stable” is a group of prostituted girls under the control of a single trafficker or pimp.• “Bottom girl”: The girl in a stable who is tasked by the pimp with supervising the others, reportingrule violations, and often helping to impose punishment on them.Of great concern is the glorification of the “pimp” culture in American mainstream society. “Pimp” has

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 25become synonymous with cool, which masks its true meaning. Below are examples of ways the “pimp”culture has infiltrated society, from celebrity affiliation to popular websites.The word “pimp” has become synonymous in popular culture with “improve” or “better.” In fact, nothingcould be further from the truth. Pimps have a significant number of psychopathic qualities. Experts haveidentified a long list of psychopathic criminals, including “serial killers, rapists, thieves, swindlers, conmen, wife beaters, white-collar criminals, hype-prone stock promoters and boiler-room operators, childabusers, gang members, disbarred lawyers, drug barons, professional gamblers.” 71 Pimps, however, are noton this list. A leading expert on psychopaths established a list of psychopathic behavioral indicators thatcan be captured through the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). 72 These include:Glibness, superficial charmGrandiose sense of self-worthPathological lyingCunning/manipulativeCallous, lack of empathyLack of remorse or guiltFailure to accept responsibility foractionsPromiscuous sexual behaviorLack of realistic, long-term goalsPoor behavioral controlsHigh need for stimulationIrresponsibilityComparing the behaviors outlined in the PCL-R to the documented drives, tactics, and behaviorsexhibited by pimps, it is reasonable to consider their potential categorization as psychopaths. 73 Thoughpimps exhibit every characteristic on the PCL-R, very little research exists on pimps in general or theirpsychopathic tendencies. In fact, only one study could be located on the subject. The study analyzed22 male prisoners incarcerated for pimping. 74 The subjects were assessed through an interview processwith the PCL-R. More than one-third of the 22 participants met the PCL-R characteristics resulting inthe diagnosis of psychopath. This study concluded that significant concern should be given to victimsunder pimp control due to the high rate of psychopathic characteristics in pimps. These psychopathicqualities would make it difficult for a prostituted woman or child to break free from a pimp due to thepsychological and emotional attachment and expectation of violent retaliation. Furthermore, the researchprojected that psychopathic pimps are likely to “minimize their offenses, especially with regard to theimpact of their offenses on the prostitutes. They are also likely to deny the sexual nature of their offenseand transfer responsibility to their prostitutes. Psychopathic pimps may verbalize the belief that they areproviding a service to those involved, but the reality is that the prostitute is little more than property tothem.” 75 The recognition of pimps as psychopaths cannot be ignored.71Hare, R. D. (1993). Without Conscience: The disturbing world of psychopaths among us (Pocket Books: New York), pg. 3.72Id. at pg. 34.73Snow, Melissa. “The Sociopath Construct of the American Pimp.” Working paper, March 2009.74Spidel, A., et al. “The Psychopath as Pimp,” The Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services, 2006. pgs.4, 205-211.75Id.

26Shared Hope InternationalDemand for youth in commercial sex markets is creating large revenue sources for highly violent criminalsand criminal networks. This provides resources and incentive to dangerous criminals, such as a man inPensacola, Florida, who drugged and raped a 17-year-old girl who had accepted a new friend’s invitationto spend the night where the trafficker posed as the friend’s father. He had arranged in advance to sell thegirl for $300,000 to another trafficker. 76Criminal gang activity in the U.S. that has been known primarily for drug trafficking is now expandingto include the lucrative sex trafficking of girls. For example, in Fort Worth, Texas, members of the localVarrio Central gang began befriending young runaway girls and supplying them with drugs. Once thegirls were addicted to the drugs they would beat and gang-rape the girls to prepare them for prostitution.The victims, one just 14 years old, were transported to various low-income apartment complexes in thearea to be sold for sex for fees ranging from $30 to $50. 77 The three teen suspects pled guilty to a reducedcharge of compelling prostitution; unfortunately the charge of human trafficking was dropped missing anopportunity for precedent in Texas. 78 In addition to Fort Worth, Texas, fairly extensive gang involvementhas also been noticed in other locations, such as Boston, Massachusetts, and Oakland, California. Lawenforcement and prosecutors from these cities and others report that rival gangs are induced to formpartnerships for the trafficking of domestic children as the profit margin is so high.Traffickers of foreign-born (international) victims are indiscriminate and will traffic domestic victimsas well. 79 In San Antonio, Timothy Gereb pled guilty to sex trafficking and through a plea bargain wassentenced to 10 years. Gereb had a quota of recruiting 10 girls to sell to a brothel in Louisiana. WhenGereb and his accomplices were only able to traffic two girls from Mexico, he began recruiting local girlsfrom the San Antonio area to fill his quota. 80Evading DetectionTraffickers/pimps communicate with one another and warn each other of places to avoid due to highpolice presence. 81 In an effort to evade law enforcement, traffickers/pimps will often stay in cities for ashort period of time. Specific traveling routes known as “circuits” have been identified. A well-knowncircuit is the Western Circuit, which includes: Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, LosAngeles, and San Diego, California; Hawaii; Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; and Salt Lake City,Utah; and extends internationally up to Vancouver, Canada. 82 It is critical to note again, however, that themovement of victims is not necessary to establish a case of domestic minor sex trafficking.76Reid, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida, pg. 11, citing Klaas Kids Winter 2007Newsletter. http://www.klaaskids.org. Accessed on April 15, 2009.77Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 10, citing“Prostitution ring involved 14-year-old girl, police in Fort Worth say.” WFAA Staff Reports. January 7, 2008. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/fortworth/stories/010708dnmetprostitution.1a45dab5.html. Accessed on April 17,2008.78Branch, Alex. “Suspected teen pimps reach plea agreements.” Star-Telegram.com, May 29, 2008.http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/671766.html. Accessed on April 15, 2009.79Struble, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — San Antonio, Texas, pg. 63.80Id. at pg. 33.81Remarks by Linda Smith. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth(Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.82Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 23.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 27The U.S. WesternTrafficking CircuitLocal Traffickers Are Often Assisted by FacilitatorsFacilitators, or accomplices, avoid direct responsibility for sex trafficking crimes by creating distance fromthe immediate criminal activity but they profit from and make possible the sex trafficking of children.Some common facilitators in the crime of DMST include taxi drivers, hotel workers, and owners of adultsexual entertainment venues. Taxi drivers in Las Vegas receive commissions for bringing buyers to illegalsuburban house brothels. 83 The commission reportedly is one third of the $300 charged to the buyer by thebrothel. Traffickers pay premiums to facilitators for locating underage girls for their customers. 84Additionally, there are institutional facilitators that act in much the same way to enable the operations oftraffickers/pimps. In some cases, governments themselves may be institutional facilitators in choosing toprioritize the value of the revenue-producing commercial sex markets over the enforcement of applicableregulations or enforcement of laws, choosing instead to look away or plead ignorance. 85 In Dallas, whereadult entertainment venues are highly profitable and add substantial revenue to the city through licensesand taxes, a 12-year-old was found being exploited in a strip club called Diamond Cabaret. The clubmanagement claimed to believe the 12-year-old was over 18 years of age. It came to light that the cityordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses did not provide for the revocation of the business licensefor employing someone younger than 18-years-old. Accordingly, no action was taken against the club.However, in response to community furor over the case, new provisions were presented to the city council,that would make it easier for an adult cabaret to lose its business license for employing minors. 86 The twotraffickers of the 14-year-old were charged with felony counts of sexual performance of a child, as well as83DEMAND., (Shared Hope International: July 2007), pgs. 4, 98.84Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 126.85DEMAND., (Shared Hope International: July 2007), pg. 93.86Kovach, Gretel C. “Lost Girl: How did a 12-year-old end up dancing in a Dallas strip club? And why is that establishment stillopen for business?” Newsweek, April 3, 2008. http://www.newsweek.com/id/130334. Accessed on April 9, 2009.

28Shared Hope Internationalfacilitating organized crime. Additionally, one was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assaultand aggravated kidnapping, while the other was charged under the prostitution statute. 87Shared Hope International found only one example (of the ten assessments across the country) where afacilitator was arrested. The case involved one person who allegedly transported a domestic minor sextrafficking victim and was charged under a state statute that criminalizes facilitation of transportationfor the purposes of human trafficking. The case was still pending at the completion of the Fort Worthassessment. 88Traffickers/pimps, facilitators, and buyers are using the Internet and other technology, as well asmagazines, to expand their marketing base. These marketing methods can act as a facilitator as well andmake procuring illicit materials relatively easy. One service provider reported that over a two-year period,an 800% increase was seen in the number of children reporting that technology was used in some way tofacilitate prostitution. 89 Online classified advertising websites have come under heavy criticism for theirroles in facilitating prostitution of minors and adults — an illegal activity that they are not stopping. InIllinois, Sheriff Dart of Cook County has recruited pro bono lawyers to file suit against Craigslist undera public nuisance theory, alleging that their maintenance of an Erotic Services webpage is tantamount tothe pimping of women and children. 90 Atlanta, Georgia, Mayor Shirley Franklin attacked Craigslist in apublic letter for the role it plays in facilitating the prostitution of children in Atlanta. 91 Craigslist defendsits practice of requiring a valid credit card and a working telephone number to place an advertisement foradult services and quickly responds to law enforcement requests for tracking information in investigatingpimping activities. In addition, Craigslist added the following warning language on its “Erotic Services”webpage:Unless all of the following points are true, please use your “back” button to exit this part of craigslist:1. I am at least 18 years old.2. I understand “erotic services” may include adult content.3. I agree to flag as “prohibited” anything illegal or in violation of the craigslist terms of use. Thisincludes, but is not limited to, offers for or the solicitation of prostitution.4. I agree to report suspected exploitation of minors to the appropriate authorities.5. By clicking on the links below, I release craigslist from any liability that may arise from my use of thissite.87Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 9, citing T. Eiserer. “Club where girl, 12, strippedwill keep license.” Dallas Morning News, March 27, 2008. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/DN-clubs_27met.ART.West.Edition1.1589397.html. Accessed on April 5, 2008.88Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 53.89Remarks by Andrea Hesse, Alberta Family Services, Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Alberta (PSECA) Program, Alberta,Canada. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas:September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.90“Lawsuit accuses craigslist of promoting prostitution.” CNN, March 5, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/05/craigs.list.prostitution/index.html. Accessed on April 15, 2009.91Pendered, D. “Mayor: Web site enables child sex; Craigslist should remove ads that seem to promote child prostitution, saysAtlanta’s Shirley Franklin.” Atlanta-Journal Constitution, August 22, 2007. http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020422&docId=l:658599507&start=24. Accessed on April 15, 2009.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 29Human trafficking and exploitation of minors are not tolerated — any suspected activity will be reported tolaw enforcement.(Emphasis in original.)One of the greatest challenges for law enforcement in identifying victims of domestic minor sex traffickingis the use of technology — most notably the Internet — in marketing the victims of commercial sexualexploitation of all ages. 92 Traffickers/pimps with small and large operations are now accessing larger, morecomplex networks. Prostitution is steadily moving off the streets making it increasingly difficult to find theperpetrators. In addition, images in the advertisements are difficult to identify as minors.As the criminal market of sex trafficking becomes more sophisticated, the less readily visible itbecomes. With the increases in demand and usage of the Internet, increasingly younger children canbe sold on the Internet without attracting the attention of authorities. An officer with the BostonPolice Department noted that traffickers/pimps will “groom a girl and put them [on the street] totrain them ... but our intelligence is showing it is more Internet. And so that’s a trend that we hadto go reduce, do our investigations through the Internet investigations.” 93 Sexual services are not theonly thing advertised online, as pimps, madams, and escort agencies recruit new members throughtheir own websites, MySpace accounts, and Facebook accounts. Furthermore, nine of ten assessmentscompleted by Shared Hope International document the use of Craigslist to facilitate domestic minorsex trafficking, with just the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands not reporting cases inwhich this great facilitator is involved.92Remarks by C. Johnson. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.93Remarks by Sergeant Detective Kelley O’Connell, Boston Police Department. Shared Hope International National TrainingConference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.

30Shared Hope InternationalChapter 3: Vulnerability“The average age that a pimp recruits a girl into prostitution is 12 to 14 years old, and these pimps aretraffickers. They know how to target the girls who are the most vulnerable. Her greatest vulnerability isher age. 12- to 14-year-olds are still naive about the world. So the danger is compounded for girls whohave an unstable home life and those who are already victims of sexual abuse.” 94— Linda Smith, Founder and President, Shared Hope InternationalTraffickers, like all those seeking to expand abusiness, respond to the preferences of the market— in this case, the buyers of sexual activities.Research has shown that the average age of entryinto prostitution and pornography is 12 to 14 yearsold in the United States. This startling statistic hasalso been confirmed through a survey of juvenilesarrested for prostitution in Clark County, Nevada.Below is a chart outlining the breakdown of ages ofentry into prostitution. 95First responders from across the country report thatthe average age of victims with whom they comeinto contact is 15 years. However, it is important tonote that most of these youth report having beenprostituted for some time before coming into contactwith services or juvenile justice. For example, inBaton Rouge, Louisiana, the youngest domesticallytrafficked minor receiving services from HealingPlace Church in August 2008 was eight years old. 96It is not surprising that young children andadolescents are the primary targets of traffickers/pimps, given their operational methods. Youth haveless life experience, fewer coping mechanisms, andsmaller social support mechanisms to draw from.This can work to the trafficker’s favor as he implements different recruitment and control tactics. A studyconducted by Shared Hope International at WestCare Nevada documented that the boyfriends of 20minors who reported having boyfriends were all over the age of 18, often at least double the age of the94Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 2. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions, 2008.95Clark County, Nevada Public Defender — Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution RelatedOffenses (July 2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.96Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 54.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 31minor, suggesting an exploitive relationship based on the age difference alone. 97According to statistics from the National Runaway Switchboard, between 1.6 and 2.8 million children runaway from home each year. Traffickers, as well as buyers, strategically prey upon runaway children because oftheir mental, physical, and financial vulnerability (inability to secure jobs due to transient nature and age).Various factors leave youth vulnerable to traffickers.The primary factor of vulnerability is the child’s age. Pre-teen or adolescent girls are more susceptibleto the calculated advances, deception, and manipulation tactics used by trafficker/pimps — no youth isexempt from falling prey to these tactics. Traffickers/pimps target locations where they know that youthare going to be — schools, malls, parks, even shelters and group homes. Often, their primary method ofmanipulation is to secure a seemingly loving and caring relationship with the youth to establish trust andallegiance. Traffickers/pimps will often invest a significant amount of time and effort to establish thisfoundational relationship. The more time they invest in the romance period the more tightly they canpsychologically bind the victim, similar to domestic violence exercised on a child’s vulnerable mentality.This “romantic” period ensures that as the relationship deteriorates to abuse and exploitation the youthwill remain loyal and hopeful that someday the loving relationship will return.Any child can become a trafficking victim, and domestically trafficked minors are diverse in terms ofethnicity, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender. However, traffickers are particularlyable to take advantage of certain specific life-characteristics that leave holes in a child’s social andemotional safety net. Youth who come from dysfunctional families in which there was abuse or trauma areparticularly vulnerable to a trafficker’s/pimp’s method of recruitment and control.“We’ve seen young girls being exploited and there’s no common thread as far as black, white, Asian,upper, upper-middle class, lower-middle class, poor house home, single, double. That varies.” 98— Sergeant Ernest Britton, Child Exploitation Unit, Atlanta Police DepartmentHistory of AbuseA history of abuse is another commonly cited vulnerability that puts youth at greater risk for exploitation.Both law enforcement and social services have found this commonality among victims of domestic minorsex trafficking. For example, the Letot Center, a juvenile justice facility in Dallas, Texas, geared towardsthe restoration of commercially sexually exploited children, found that 93 to 95% of commerciallyexploited children had been previously physically and sexually abused. 99 Likewise, WestCare Nevada, ashelter for youth in Las Vegas, found that 71% of domestic minor sex trafficking victims had been sexually97Shared Hope International and WestCare Nevada case review study (2006). Data on file with authors.98Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 2. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.99Remarks by B. Fassett. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

32Shared Hope Internationalabused as a child, whereas just 11% of youth identified as at-risk had suffered the same abuse. Lawenforcement also find that when conducting victim-centered interviews with trafficked children, the victimsusually disclose previous familial physical or sexual abuse. 100According to Sergeant Byron Fassett, a nationally recognized law enforcement expert on the issue ofdomestic minor sex trafficking with the Dallas Police Department, a history of abuse seems to be oneof the major contributing factors or the “genesis of the problem, why this child versus another child”becomes a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking. 101 Similarly, international respondents have found ahigh rate of previous abuse has also been found internationally with programs in Canada estimating that80% of their commercially sexually exploited children experienced previous abuse in their families andenvironments. 102“We’ve heard where it’s been said that incest is boot camp for prostitution. And I truly believe that. Ithink it sets women and girls up for that to be possible.” 103— Kristy Childs, Founder and Executive Director,Veronica’s Voice, and Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingConnected to the issue of physical and sexual abuse is the problem of familial trafficking — when afamily member trades or rents their child for sexual use by another in exchange for money, food, drugs,etc. Familial trafficking happens at alarming rates in the United States. In fact, the trafficking of childrenby family members was noted frequently in the assessments done by Shared Hope International. Dueto a lack of training and understanding of human trafficking by state child protection service agencies,professionals often classified the abuse under a different label, such as child sexual abuse. This mislabelingof child sexual abuse instead of child sex trafficking results in the commercial component of the crimebeing lost. WestCare Nevada in Las Vegas determined an estimated 30% of domestically traffickedminors who receive services at their shelter were first trafficked by a family member. 104 Staff at WestCareNevada is quick to point out, however, that victims rarely disclose family involvement at the beginning oftreatment, but typically disclose much later in the restoration process. 105Drug Use by ParentsA common element found among sex trafficked minors is the existence of a drug-addicted parent. It is notuncommon in these cases for an in-kind commercial exchange to occur with the parent selling100Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 113.101Remarks by B. Fassett. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.102Canada/US Consultation Meeting for the Third World Congress on the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. October2 and 3, 2008, Sponsored by Shared Hope International International, ECPAT-USA, and Beyond Borders. Transcript on file withauthors.103Remarks by Kristy Childs, President and Founder, Veronica’s Voice. Shared Hope International National Training Conference onthe Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.104Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 106.105Id.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 33sex with their child for drugs. 106 Having a drug-addicted parent creates several areas of danger — theparents themselves, congregation of other drug-addicted persons with access to the child, faulty parentalsupervision, and the introduction of drug use to the child. An example of this can be seen in a domesticminor sex trafficking case that took place in Monroe, Louisiana, in 2006. The mother of a 14-year-old girlsold her child to her crack dealer in order to pay for drugs. Though the mother was arrested and chargedwith cruelty to a juvenile, the child remained in the custody of the drug dealer (a registered sex offender)who supplied the minor with drugs and continued to sexually abuse her. The drug dealer then prostitutedthe minor in partnership with another man. 107Another example of familial domestic minor sex trafficking emerged in Salt Lake City, where an 11-yearoldwas removed from her biological parents’ care due to drug use by the parents. Two years after theremoval, the child disclosed in therapy that her parents forced her to watch pornography with her brotherand then engage in sex acts for the entertainment of their parents and their parents’ friends. The parentsoften charged the spectators a fee payable in money or drugs, especially crystal methamphetamine. 108Runaways — Easy PreyChildren who have experienced chronic physical and sexual abuse in the home environment often beginto run away from their home between the ages of 12 and 14 years old. A survey of 103 child victimsof sex trafficking completed by the Clark County, Nevada, Public Defenders Office-Juvenile Divisioncalculated the average age a prostituted youth first ran away from home was 13 years old (see next page). 109The victims view running away as a way to escape an environment that they cannot control. It is not acoincidence that the average age of a runaway falls squarely within the age range a child is recruited intoprostitution as the victimized child who flees from home often lands straight in the welcoming arms of atrafficker posing as protector and caretaker.106Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 35.107Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 14, citingFitch, E. “Grand Jury Indicts Murder Suspect.” The News-Star. June 14, 2006.108Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 11.109Clark County Public Defender — Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses (July2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.

34Shared Hope InternationalThe Dallas Police Department High Risk Victims/Trafficking Unit has made significant strides inidentifying and responding to sex trafficked minors by institutionalizing the process of flagging chronicrunaways as a vulnerable population and streamlining domestic minor sex trafficking cases to the ChildExploitation/High Risk Victims & Trafficking Unit (CE/HRVTU). Recognizing that chronic runaways(children who run away from home four or more times in a year) are extremely vulnerable to recruitmentby a trafficker, this protocol provides an opportunity for the CE/HRVTU to intervene and rescue thesechronic runaways from this vicious cycle.In 2007, CE/HRVTU identified 189 HRV cases, 119 of which involved prostitution. See below for a yearlycomparison of HRV identifications. 110110Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 11

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 35DateIdentified# InvolvingProstitution11/04-11/05 136 HRV 852006 131 HRV 652007 189 HRV 119History with Child Protective Services (CPS)The common history of abuse in the lives of domestically trafficked minors leads to frequent pronouncedhistories with child protective services. The Letot Center in Dallas, Texas, found that 10% of juvenilesreceiving services were previously in CPS custody. 111Group homes, foster care homes, etc., can be targeted by traffickers/pimps who take advantage of theconcentration of vulnerable youth and systematically recruit from these locations. 112 The My Life, MyChoice Project based in Boston, Massachusetts, found that of the first 40 girls they worked with who wereliving in group home within the foster care system, 38 had been approached by a pimp for recruitment. 113“What we have learned is overwhelmingly, while these kids may leave home voluntarily, while they maybe runaways or any one of a variety or variations on that theme; they are seduced, they are tricked, theyare lured into this practice and then they lose the ability to walk away. These kids literally become 21stcentury slaves.” 114— Ernie Allen, President and CEO, National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenOlder BoyfriendsA main tactic used by traffickers/pimps to prey on youth is to institute a cycle of intimacy and violence;it is not unusual for a trafficker to first develop an intimate relationship with a targeted youth as a“boyfriend.” This sometimes is referred to as the “lover-boy tactic.” The trafficker uses a child’s desire foraffection to lock her into the relationship with him.The presence of an older, usually adult boyfriend in the life of a teen is an indicator of this frequently usedtactic. The existence of an older boyfriend often emerges during an investigation of misidentified or unidentified111Id. at pg. 112.112Remarks by Sheila, Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS. Shared Hope International National Training Conferenceon the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.113Remarks by Lisa Goldblatt Grace, LICSW, Program Director, My Life My Choice Project. Shared Hope International NationalTraining Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file withauthors.114Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 1. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.

36Shared Hope Internationaltrafficking victims. These adult boyfriends often sexually exploit the child for either drugs or money.Blueprint of the Life of a DMST VictimVictims of domestic minor sex trafficking typically experience myriad abusive encounters which usuallystart at an early age. This often sets the youth up for a high level of dangerous behavior as she navigatesand attempts to numb the confusion of her abusive environment. Professionals who interact with victimsof domestic minor sex trafficking often recognize or identify only an isolated incident in the continuumof the child’s victimization. However, in order to properly identify and respond to child sex trafficking,it is imperative to recognize the root causes as well as the collateral impact, such as psychosocial andbehavioral problems, which are direct results of chronic victimization. A comprehensive survey of 104prostituted juvenile victims in Clark County, Nevada, reveals the vast detrimental and debilitating impactof domestic minor sex trafficking on the life of a child. The findings are documented in the chart below.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 37Chapter 4: Recruitment and Pimp ControlA trafficker’s process of recruitment and control are sophisticated. There is a calculated method to preyingon youth, and the traffickers/pimps share tactics with each other, assist one another, and craft theirtechniques together. Experts and survivors refer to these methods as “brainwashing.” One survivor expertnoted commonalities between the tactics traffickers use and those utilized by cult leaders. 115Traffickers/pimps make it their business to understand the psychology of youth and to practice and honetheir tactics of manipulation. The trafficker’s goal is to exploit and create vulnerabilities and remove thecredibility the minor holds in the eyes of their families, the public, and law enforcement. The trafficker’sultimate goal is profit.Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Power and Control WheelIsolationInability to accesssupport resourcesUnfamiliar or unaware ofgeographic locationTotal control over the victimsmovementsUsingCoercion and ThreatsThreatening family membersand friendsBlackmailing the victimHarming another girl forvictim’s disobedienceEmotionalViolenceIsolating victim from social supportsCycles of affection followedby violenceShaming andhumiliatingEconomicDependenceRefusing to allow victimto go to schoolTaking all assets and moneyfrom a victimPowerandControlPhysicalViolenceTortureBranding/tattooing victimForced drug useDenying food or use ofa bathroomPurposefulManipulationLearning a victim’s insecurities overtime then exploiting knowledgeExploiting known structuralgaps in a victim’s life (such asan absent father)SexualViolenceMaking victim prostituteGang rapesWithholding sexual intimacyfor obedienceSexual humiliation andshaming115Remarks by K. Childs. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

38Shared Hope InternationalThe recruitment or grooming process.Once a trafficker/pimp identifies the physical and/or psychological needs of a child, he seeks to fill them.If the child lacks a loving parental presence, the trafficker/pimp morphs his tactics to become the parentfigure. If a youth needs a safe place to sleep, the trafficker/pimp provides housing. In this way, traffickers/pimps work to create a dependency between the minor and themselves. An example of recruitment byproviding a physical need was reported by the Dallas Police Department, Child Exploitation/High RiskVictims/Trafficking Unit. A 12-year-old was found stripping in the Dallas strip club, Diamond Cabaret.Police later learned that two traffickers, a man and a woman, had offered the child safe shelter. When theminor accepted the offer, the traffickers took her to the strip club and forced her to dance. 116One survivor’s story of recruitment in Toledo, Ohio, illustrates how a trafficker uses psychological needsor vulnerabilities to recruit victims. An older, male trafficker “romanced” this child by recognizing theemotional needs of the child were not being met. He presented himself as a boyfriend in order to gain theminor’s affection and dependency. She explained that for six months, an older man pulled alongside her inhis car every morning as she walked to a school for gifted children. He bought the 12-year-old small giftsand told her she was pretty. She finally agreed to a ride to school — and she was trapped. 117These grooming and recruitment practices are common to those of other child predators. For example,“traveler” cases investigated by police usually involve an older adult man who targets younger childrenonline. These perpetrators spend time slowly gaining the trust and affection of the youth as well asdesensitizing the minor to the idea of sexual activity (e.g., sending the youth increasingly graphicpornography). In the end, the adult sets a meeting with the minor in hopes of engaging in sexual activity.According to police, these “relationships” usually involve the promise of gifts, money, and opportunity, allof which qualify as a commercial exchange under the TVPA. 118“People who use kids like this are the most brilliant child psychologists on the planet. They know thesekids are not credible, they know how to manipulate them into being less credible, they get them addictedto something, anything; then even if the child does rat them out, no one will believe them.” 119Additionally, traffickers systematically utilize recruitment tactics that distance them from the risk ofdetection and prosecution by law enforcement. Traffickers use “bottom girls,” who manage the details ofthe other girls’ exploitation. The process of “sending girls on automatic” allows the trafficker/pimp to keepdistant from the crime he is committing. 120 Traffickers maintain a careful distance even from their victims,using street names so the girls never know their real names. A victim’s arrest reinforces what the pimp hastaught her about distrusting authorities, and, due to the pimp’s careful secrecy and anonymity,116Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 9, citing T. Eiserer and “Club where girl, 12,stripped will keep license,” Dallas Morning News, March 27, 2008. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/DN-clubs_27met.ART.West.Edition1.1589397.html. Accessed on April 5, 2008.117Personal interview, “Tonya,” December 13, 2008.118TVPA, 22 USC 7101 §103(3).119Reid, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida, pg. 68, quoting assessment interviewee fromHillsborough Kids, Inc., Clearwater, FL.120Remarks by C. Johnson. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 39she is both unable and unwilling to provide the level of information law enforcement requires to pursue aninvestigation. These same tactics exacerbate a potential victim’s vulnerable state and protect the trafficker.Traffickers use and encourage cultural attitudes which view prostituted children not as victims but asdelinquents. This serves to isolate the victim as traffickers tell them that seeking help is a waste of timebecause no one would believe them since they are “just prostitutes.” A study on the demand for sextrafficking conducted by Shared Hope International found that traffickers often provided drugs to theirvictims to both sell and take, further marginalizing and criminalizing the minor. The goals of traffickersare three-fold: keep the victim under control; make money; and lower the child’s credibility in the eyesof law enforcement and the community so she is not believed when disclosing information about theexploitation.Pimp-control hierarchy.Trafficker/PimpFacilitator(taxis, advertisers, porous security,corrupt authorities, etc.)Partner/Traffickerin TrainingBottom Bitch/GirlVictimsLaw enforcement agents report that the youth they see victimized through domestic minor sex traffickingare usually exceptionally vulnerable and have low self-esteem. Though traffickers seek out youth withexisting gaps in their support network or low self-esteem, they also create and expand these vulnerabilities.There are certain common tactics that traffickers employ in order to break down a child’s sense of control,worth, and autonomy.ManipulationWhile every tactic used by a trafficker/pimp has some element of manipulation, the subtlety of themanipulation is often overlooked by both the victim and responders to sex trafficking, thus it is worthexamining as a separate and purposeful tactic. Traffickers/pimps utilize manipulation to gain and maintaincontrol over their victims. One example is a trafficker’s method of maintaining internal controloverhis “stable” (the children or adults being prostituted by him). Traffickers commonly use emotionalmanipulation, such as favoring one girl over the others with frequent changes to the favored position, as

40Shared Hope Internationala way of preventing collusion for escape or disobedience. This method establishes hierarchy and ensuresconstant competition with each other for rewards and promotions to the girls who produce the mostmoney and follow the “rules of the game.” It also keeps the victims divided and ensures that they remainfocused on pleasing the trafficker/pimp rather than creating an escape strategy.“Nicole, I love you and I love my son, and if I was able to be there, I would never allow for you or him tosuffer or be without your needs and wants in life.” 121— Excerpt from a letter to a victim from her convicted traffickerOne self-proclaimed pimp and author of yet another guide on pimping explained how to apply therecognized Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the situation of pimping. The author/pimp provides detailson implementing each stage of the Hierarchy of Needs for the manipulation and control of a personin prostitution. 122 Referred to as “the Pyramid,” this approach systematically addresses foundationalhuman needs such as safety, security, love, and belonging. The concept discusses how past sexual abuse,family dysfunction, societal judgment, and systemic failure leave gaps into which traffickers/pimps insertthemselves as providers. By offering a false sense of security, respect, and love, a trafficker can establish atrauma bond that will keep the victim vulnerable, completely subject to the trafficker, and the source ofprofits through her exploitation.Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs121Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 3. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.122Martin, R. J., “How to be a Pimp Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs to Make the Most Money.” Associated Content.October 26, 2006. www.associatedcontent.com/article/75184/how_to_be_a_pimp_using_maslows_hierarchy. html?cat=7. Accessedon January 20, 2009.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 41Chapter 5: Identification of Domestic MinorSex Trafficking Victims and Trauma BondsSelf-identification and trafficked minors.Victims of domestic minor sex trafficking often do not self-identify as victims. The result is a denial of thevictimization due to fear of the physical and psychological abuse inflicted by the trafficker, and/or due tothe trauma bonds developed through the victimization process. Law enforcement and prosecutors explainthe difficulty this presents in the pursuit of prosecuting a trafficker in a domestic minor sex traffickingcase. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Marcus-Kurn states:I think these cases that involve children — adolescents who are involved in commercial sex — areprobably some of the most difficult cases to do. That is because these girls are victims. They do notidentify as victims, they do not want you to identify them as victims, they do not want your help,or at least that is what they will tell you. They will give you a script that will include numerousfalse statements including their age, where they are from, [and] the relationship they have with thetrafficker/pimp. 123Trauma BondsThe psychological and physical ramifications of “pimp control” are extensive. Some of the many issuesstemming from the trauma that a trafficked youth may face are listed in the chart on the following page. 124123Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 2. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.124Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Practitioner Manual & Intake Guide, Shared Hope International (May 2009).

42Shared Hope InternationalTable 3: Potential Mental Health Issues Facing Victims of Sex Trafficking1. Anxiety and Stress Disorder2. Attachment Disorder3. Attention Deficit/HyperactivityDisorder (ADHD)4. Conduct Disorder5. Depression (Major, Dysthymia )6. Developmental Disorders7. Eating Disorders8. Learning DisordersPsychological Disorders9. Acute Stress Disorder10. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD)11. Anxiety Disorders Panic AttacksAgoraphobiaSocial Phobia12. Dissociative Disorders13. Eating Disorders Anorexia NervosaBulimia Nervosa14. Impulse Control Disorders15. Mood Disorders Major DepressionDysthymiaBipolarHypothymia16. Personality Disorders Borderline P.D.Histrionic P.D.Narcissistic P.D.Paranoid P.D.Anti-Social P.D.Avoidant P.D.Dependent P.D.Obsessive Compulsive P.D.17. Self-Harming Disorders Self-mutilation18. Sleep Disorders InsomniaHypersomnia19. Somatic Disorders20. Substance Abuse Disorders Often DTMs use substances to cope*The above are possible disorders common among domestically trafficked minors. Due to the nature of domestic minorsex trafficking and the multiple traumas victims sustain, it is common for victims to have a multi-diagnosis.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 43“Because what we’re dealing with — often we talk about trauma — is the biological adaptation in thenervous system that is a person’s survival response — their best attempt to create safety in the presentmoment.” 125— Sophia Deborah Erez, Trauma Resource InstituteThe bond between a victim and her trafficker/pimp is referred to as a “trauma bond.” Trauma bonds area major hurdle to the identification, rescue, and restoration of the domestic minor sex trafficking victimas the symptoms include failure to self-identify, returning to the trafficker/pimp, and other discouragingreactions. Dr. Patrick Carnes, an expert on trauma bonds, explains, “This [traumatic bonding] meansthat the victims have a certain dysfunctional attachment that occurs in the presence of danger, shame,or exploitation. There is often seduction, deception, or betrayal. There is always some form of dangeror risk.” 126 The extent and level of control exerted by a trafficker through trauma bonds is not yettotally understood and more research on trauma bonds is needed as it pertains to domestic minor sextrafficking. 127 What is known, however, is that there are both biological and psychological reasons thattrauma bonds exist.Biology of Trauma BondsTraumatic events have a profound effect on both the psychological state and the neurological state ofan individual. The behaviors of domestically trafficked minors that often bewilder and frustrate firstresponders, such as refusing help, running away from shelters, unclear or disjointed memories, lack of selfidentification,aggression, protection of the identity of their trafficker/pimp, and others, are symptomaticof biological processes that occur when chronic traumatic experiences occur in a young person’s life. 128Trafficked children have two types of trauma as a result of severe, chronic abuse: developmental traumaand shock trauma. Due to the chronic nature of violence found in domestic minor sex trafficking, as wellas any history of abuse the child might have, a youth’s neurological system is disrupted and not allowedto return to a state of equilibrium. The child instead remains in a constant state of arousal. The result isdysregulation of the nervous system and a battery of physical and psychological effects. The two mainpsychological states that a trafficked minor may experience are: 1291. Hyperarousal — Symptoms can include: anger, panic and phobias, irritability, hyperactivity,frequent crying and temper tantrums, nightmares and night terrors, regressive behavior, increase inclinging behavior, running away.2. Hypoarousal — Responses can include: daydreaming, inability to bond with others, inattention,forgetfulness, shyness. Physical symptoms can include: eyes widen, pale skin, complaints of beingcold, flat affect.125Remarks by Sophia Deborah Erez, M.S. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking ofAmerica’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.126Carnes, Dr. Patrick J. (1997), The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships, (Deerfield Beach, FL: HCIPublisher), pg. 29.127Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 119.128Remarks by S. Erez from a slide by Laurie Leitch, Ph.D. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the SexTrafficking of America’s Youth. Transcript on file with authors.129Id. Transcript on file with authors.

44Shared Hope InternationalFurthermore, trauma, particularly prolonged trauma, that first occurs at an early age and that is of aninterpersonal nature can have significant effects on psychological functioning above and beyond Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. As a result, domestic minor sex trafficking victims oftenexperience DESNOS — “Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified” — which creates a higherlevel of biological and cognitive impairments. These effects include:• Problems with affect dysregulation• Aggression against self and others• Dissociative symptoms• Somatization• Character pathology 130Psychology of Trauma BondsTrauma bonds are often compared to Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological response where hostagesbecome attached to the perpetrators and later come to their defense. 131 The powerful mix of loving carealternated with violence, threats, and dehumanizing behavior has led one expert to apply this type ofbonding with the relationship between a trafficker/pimp and his victim. The expert draws a parallelbetween the dynamics of a trafficking victim who stays with her trafficker and a domestic abuse victimwho stays with a violent partner. A person can be “extremely gifted and a strong person ... and still, in thecontext of terror and violence, become traumatically bonded.” 132The effects of trauma bonds are felt both by the victim and those trying to assist. Words such as“programmed,” “brainwashing,” and other descriptors are used to capture the effects of trauma bonds.Another important descriptor for the bond between a victim and trafficker used by social service providersis “family.” Many victims come from dysfunctional families or have run away from destructive homes,therefore the promise of a family and a future with the trafficker is powerful — even if that future isviolent.Another important aspect to trauma bonds is the victim’s loss of identity. 133 Survivors of domestic minorsex trafficking recall doubting themselves and believing that the demands issued by the trafficker/pimpwere natural. 134 Traffickers/pimps create a false sense of choice for the child. The perception that theyare “choosing” to prostitute establishes a new set of norms as well as successes and achievements for theyouth. Accordingly, the child’s own perceived value becomes more established in the lifestyle that she nowfeels she has chosen. This system of presenting an apparently willing prostitute works to further protectthe trafficker/pimp from detection by law enforcement.To reinforce this view, as well as to continue manipulating the victim’s reality, traffickers/pimps usuallygive minors a new name, brand them with their own symbol or name (e.g., tattoos), hold “family130Id. Transcript on file with authors.131Remarks by K. Childs. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.132Carnes, The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships, pg. 36.133Id.134Remarks by Sheila, Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS. Shared Hope International National Training Conferenceon the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth. Transcript on file with authors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 45meetings,” and make the victims call him “daddy.” This verbal manipulation is compounded with physicalviolence, and while many victims are told that they have the option to leave, they are too scared anddependent — psychologically, physically, emotionally, and financially — on the trafficker/pimp to venturefrom his control.“And so as you see, these are incredibly powerful needs — these are needs that most of us would like,right? Control, pride, respect, status, sense of accomplishment, sense of belonging — these are notbizarre, crazy needs. These are very natural human needs that are being met in a very distorted way,and yet in a very, very real way.” 135— Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director, GEMSLack of Self-Disclosure requires Comprehensive Identification ProceduresThe recognized failure of victims to self-disclose or self-identify makes it critical for those likely to comeinto contact with victims to have intake procedures, victim-centered questioning techniques, and trainingto properly identify these children as victims. In addition, these identification mechanisms, trackingmethods, and protocols need to be inter-agency as well as intra-agency given that most human traffickingcases will involve a multitude of agencies and jurisdictions.Research has shown that these important protocols are not in place in the United States. Shared HopeInternational found that there was minimal training on the identification of child sex trafficking. Fourof the ten assessments found that there was no specific protocol for identifying minors involved incommercial sexual activities. 136 In those locations that did have a specific identification procedure, itencompassed only one or two agencies while the larger community remained unaware, uninformed, andlargely uninvolved in identification of the victims. A failure to identify the child victim is exacerbated bythe lack of systematic tracking of identified child sex trafficking victims as reported by first respondersacross the United States. Some states have started to incorporate identification and tracking techniquesthrough the child protective service agencies, such as the Office of Community Service, the Louisianastate child welfare agency, which has inserted a specific abuse category for “prostitute” within the intakedatabase. Though this label is not ideal, it provides a category for identifying and tracking victims ofdomestic minor sex trafficking. Also, the Florida Department of Children and Families recently added amaltreatment code for human trafficking to the state’s abuse hotline with instructions to hotline workersthat the code includes both international victims and domestic minors who have been exploited throughprostitution.A starting point for developing identification procedures can be as simple as integrating relevant questionsinto preexisting forms in use. Most systems currently in place for identifying child victims were developedwith a cooperative, self-identifying victim in mind and are not geared toward identifying domestic minorsex trafficking victims. As a result, the mislabeling of child sex trafficking victims as sexual abuse victimsor juvenile delinquents who willingly engage in prostitution frequently occurs. This mislabeling is largely135Remarks by R. Lloyd, Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.136Fort Worth, Texas; New Orleans/Baton Rouge, Louisiana; San Antonio, Texas; Clearwater, Florida

46Shared Hope Internationalresponsible for the failure of delivery of services and shelter to the child trafficking victim and has createda void of data regarding the prevalence of these victims in the United States.The ramifications of misidentification of child sex trafficking victims are pronounced. In an assessment ofthe Baton Rouge/New Orleans area in Louisiana, a clinical supervisor at a runaway youth shelter reviewedcomputer records and reported that 57% of the 157 youth that came to the shelter in 2006 were domesticminor sex trafficking victims pursuant to the federal definition, though they were not identified as suchat the time. 137 As a result, the true extent of their victimization was not made known to restorative serviceproviders or to law enforcement for investigation into the crime of trafficking. Most importantly, thesevictims were not given a response specific to their victimization.WestCare Nevada in Las Vegas also reported seeing many domestic minor sex trafficking victims withintheir youth population and reflects the frequent commingling of these victims with youth struggling withrelated issues or issues that develop as a result of their victimization, most notably drug addiction. FromApril 2004 through April 2005, WestCare Nevada tracked 64 girls through both their substance abuseand probation diversions programs, though neither of these programs were designed specifically to treatdomestic minor sex trafficking victims. WestCare Nevada found that 72% (46 of the 64 girls) had a historyof prostitution. Of those girls, 98% had a history of physical or sexual abuse. The majority of the girlsidentified with a history of prostitution were recruited between the ages of 12 and 13 years old, howeverthose girls were not identified as trafficking victims on average, until approximately 15 years old. Each girlrevealed that she had been exploited by a pimp. 138The Clark County, Nevada, Public Defenders Office-Juvenile Division surveyed 104 juveniles arrestedfor prostitution-related activity from July 2007 to November 2008 and found a high level of drug abusewithin this population of victims. The chart below provides a break down of documented drug use. It isimportant to note, that the average age of those using drugs was 14 years old. 139137Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, pg. 59.138Interview with Jennifer Hilton, Program Director, WestCare Nevada. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: How to Identify America’sTrafficked Youth. Prod. Shared Hope International. DVD. Washington, DC: Shared Hope International, 2007.139Clark County Public Defender—Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution Related Offenses (July2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 47In a separate study completed by Shared Hope International with WestCare Nevada, a random samplingof 85 high-risk youth case files from 2000 through 2006 were reviewed to determine how many youthdisclosed characteristics of domestic minor sex trafficking to intake personnel and counselors, butwere not identified as victims at the time. The study revealed that 33 of the 85 high risk youth disclosedinformation that indicated they were victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Of these 33 girls, themajority were first found and brought to WestCare Nevada by law enforcement officers. 140140Shared Hope International and WestCare Nevada case review study (2006). Data on file with authors.

48Shared Hope InternationalSource of Admittance for DMST Victims in WestCare NevadaWestCare Nevada DMST Victim Admittance:Unknown 3Parent 1Police 24Self-referral 3Outreach team 1Walk-in (referred by DCFS) 1Misidentification leads to Different Labels for VictimsTrafficking victims may be mislabeled as victims of sexual abuse, rape, or domestic violence. Thoughthese crimes are a part of a trafficking situation, they do not encompass the extent and complexity ofthe exploitation that has occurred in sex trafficking. When mislabeled, victims do not receive the entirerange of services or victim rights that are necessary for restoration. Further, perpetrators are not heldaccountable to the fullest extent of the law.Although domestic minor sex trafficking victims are abuse victims, they represent a distinct groupthat is many times overlooked or misidentified. Site assessments found some service providers werereluctant to label certain scenarios of domestic trafficking as such. This was particularly evident incases of prostitution of a child in which in-kind exchange rather than cash was received, such as aparent exchanging sex with their child for rent or drugs. Instead, social service providers preferred tolabel trafficking victims as sexual abuse victims or another general victim group. 141 Domestic minor sextrafficking victims are abuse victims, but they represent a distinct group that is many times overlooked ormisidentified. While child abuse victims have an established path to services and shelter, domestic minorsex trafficking victims are, at best, provided a patchwork of services and shelter that often do not meettheir unique psychological and physical needs. The multitude of labels result in incomplete treatment141Struble, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — San Antonio, Texas, pg. 42.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 49plans. With this difficulty in identifying victims, the community and professionals likely to come in contactwith victims need to look for indicators of vulnerability to trafficking or indicators that a child might becurrently victimized. To avoid the misidentifications of victims, service providers should look for signs ofvulnerability that could indicate exploitation.Table 4: Warning Signs of Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingWarning Signs of Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingHomelessnessPresence of an older boyfriendSigns of violence and/or psychologicaltraumaMasking charges such as curfew violations,truancy, and other status offensesTravel with an older male who is not aguardianChronic running away (three or more times)Tattoos often serve to mark a victim as theproperty of a particular pimpMultiple sexually transmitted diseasesSubstance abuseAccess to material things the youth cannotaffordIdentification training, procedures, and protocols are needed for all agencies potentially interacting withdomestic minor sex trafficking victims, including service and shelter providers, outreach teams, non-profitorganizations, law enforcement, prosecutors, juvenile justice system sections (courts, probation, anddetention), child protective services, and juvenile public defenders. The lack of proper identification meansa loss of opportunity for law enforcement to capture the trafficker/pimp, a barrier for all who are workingwith the DMST victim to align proper services and an added advantage for the trafficker/pimp and buyer.

50Shared Hope InternationalChapter 6: Lack of Justice for the Victimsof Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingVictims of domestic minor sex trafficking are systematically arrested and detainedacross the United States.Intersections of Juvenile Delinquency and VictimizationThe lack of established identification methods causes victimized youth to be identified as juveniledelinquents leading to their involvement in the juvenile justice system and is a primary cause for thedetention of DMST victims in juvenile detention facilities. The inconsistency of labeling by the firstresponders coming into contact with the victims affects the involvement of law enforcement and canresult in treatment plans geared toward delinquency rather than sexual exploitation. In fact, the sameintercepted child may receive a completely different label with each encounter. For example, one might seea minor as sexually exploited, particularly if he or she has previously received training on domestic minorsex trafficking, while another responder might identify the minor as truant.Social service providers misidentified trafficked youth in the majority of study locations. One runawayyouth shelter identified 57% of their clients in 2006 as domestic minor sex trafficking victims afterreceiving training on identifiers. 142 It is important to note, that this is not a reflection of poor services,but merely a lack of awareness and education. Many service providers, including this particular runawayshelter, desire training on the proper identification of sex trafficking victims. It is critical that serviceproviders receive such training.Masking ChargesTraffickers will purposely place their victims in situations of crimes or delinquency during exploitation inan attempt to damage the child’s image, making them less credible to those within the justice system —law enforcement, prosecutors, and juries. Though the TVPA states that these children should not be heldaccountable for crimes committed as a direct result of their trafficked condition (recognizing they wereunder the control of a trafficker), domestic minor sex trafficking victims are entering the juvenile justicesystem under “masking charges.” These charges of delinquency obscure the trafficking victimization andundermine the credibility of the juvenile’s claims of victimization to first responders. These charges ofteninclude status offenses, such as curfew violations or runaway status, as well as delinquency, such as drugpossession.At times, law enforcement purposely place a masking charge on a victim in order to hold the juvenilewithout realizing that the child qualifies as a trafficking victim. If a minor is caught engaging inprostitution, a well-intentioned law enforcement officer may take the child directly to a runaway shelter orarrest the child for a status offense such as truancy or a curfew violation. This process of arresting142Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 59.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 51youth on a masking charge is typically an effort to protect the child from the stigma of a criminal charge.While the motivation behind such actions is noble, masking charges hide the true exploitation of the childand prevent delivery of appropriate services. Masking charges re-victimize the child and thwart propertreatment, and in the case of a delinquency determination, these charges may have the negative long-termeffect of preventing the youth from obtaining funding for education and hinder career opportunities.Essentially, each victim’s future is at stake.The lack of formal protocols for identification found in social services, law enforcement, and prosecutorsmirror the situation in juvenile courts, detention centers, and probation. As a result, victims that hadbeen arrested on masking charges continue to be adjudicated by the court system with the true nature ofexploitation remaining hidden. Once again, this serves to assist the perpetrator and hinder the rescue andrestoration of child victims.The Perfect Victim ProblemThe criminal aspects surrounding domestic minor sex trafficking, as well as the psychological ramificationsfor the victim, create a situation that is hard to deal with adequately for law enforcement, prosecutors,and social services. Many domestically trafficked minors exhibit signs of delinquency such as aggressionor chaotic behavior as a result of the control of the trafficker/pimp and as a result of trauma. Most lawenforcement agents report handling these situations on a case by case basis, which, unfortunately, resultstoo often in failed follow-up questioning or investigations.“I also feel like it’s hard for a girl who’s getting arrested and dealing with a whole bunch of men inthat situation, because for the most part she’s been abused or molested, so when she’s surroundedby a bunch of cops, and there a bunch of men there, it could be very, like, earth-shattering, and veryuncomfortable, especially the whole process of the strip-searching, and the whole thing is just — it’svery frightening, it’s very scary, like she may be putting on a front, and she may be spitting in your faceand cursing you out, but she’s scared and she’s hurt, and she just wants — you know, she wants to be —of course, nobody wants to be in jail, nobody wants to be incarcerated, but she wants to be treated withrespect, especially, and I would say that, you know, there may be certain situations, she might feel morecomfortable with a female officer.” 143— Jennifer, Survivor of domestic minor sex traffickingIn every location assessed by Shared Hope International, the majority of prosecutors, juvenile courtjudges, and law enforcement officers interviewed, reported that they view commercially sexually exploitedchildren as victims. The disconnect was found to be between a theoretical victim and an actual child sextrafficking victim who rarely meets the standards of a “perfect victim.” A perfect victim is a victim whoself-identifies, cooperates with police and prosecutors, fully rejects their abuser, and willingly complies withservice treatment plans. Traditional child sex abuse cases typically garner priority over child sex traffickingcases because sexual abuse victims are seen as compliant and innocent witnesses, while DMST victims areviewed as uncooperative and defiant witnesses. The defiance and rejection of help by most domestic143Remarks by Jennifer, Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS. Shared Hope International Domestic Minor SexTrafficking National Training Conference (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.

52Shared Hope Internationalminor sex trafficking victims is consistently misunderstood as an acceptance or even complicity in theirexploitation through prostitution rather than a desire to be freed. While there is much to learn from thefield of child sexual abuse — this is where the sexual exploitation began — the level and type of abuse isdifferent and requires a specialized response and understanding in order to foster an environment wherethe victims of sex trafficking can become valuable witnesses in the cases against their perpetrators.Prostitution and Prostitution-Related ChargesThough the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) clearly defines minors involved incommercial sex acts as victims, still juveniles often are arrested on prostitution and prostitution-relatedcharges. Further, the law clearly states that purchasing sex from a minor is illegal, yet this law is notenforced sufficiently.Many children are arrested because they have identification documents which falsely indicate that they areadults. Though law enforcement officers may not knowingly arrest children given the false identification,once identified as juveniles, many prostituted children are charged with prostitution and proceed throughthe juvenile justice process.A sampling of arrest statistics from the 10 assessment sites reveal the reality of minors being chargedwith prostitution — a crime the federal TVPA says they cannot commit without simultaneously beingvictims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Since 2000, the Tarrant County Juvenile Services encompassingFort Worth, Texas, identified 25 youth charged with prostitution — domestic minor sex traffickingvictims under the federal law. These minors were brought into the juvenile justice system on referralsfor “prostitution of self,” though it is well-recognized that juveniles in prostitution nearly always have atrafficker operating as their pimp. 144 In fact, Fort Worth police interviewees confirmed that all six domesticminor sex trafficking victims that they identified between September 2006 and the time of the assessmentinterviews in May 2008 stated they had pimps. 145In the Sixth Circuit Court of Florida (Pinellas and Pasco Counties) which encompasses Clearwater, thejuvenile public defender reported prostitution charges as follows: in 2000, four minors; 2001, four; 2002,six; 2003, one; 2004, three; 2005, three; 2006, three; 2007, three minors (in all, 27 children in eight years). 146However, when viewed from a statewide perspective, a review of the Department of Juvenile Justiceintakes from 2000 to 2006 reflects the much higher numbers of youth referred to DJJ for prostitution asfollows: 102 (2000-01), 75 (2001-02), 57 (2002-03), 69 (2003-04), 61 (2004-05) — a total of 364 children injust five years. 147In Utah, according to data generated by the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts specifically for theShared Hope International site assessment, a review of statistics from 1996 to 2007 revealed a total of 42juveniles arrested and detained on delinquency charges of prostitution (26 minors) or sexual solicitation(15 first offense, one second offense). The numbers of minors charged with prostitution or sexualsolicitation peaked in 1996 with nine referrals, and in 1997 with 10 referrals. More recently, from 2001 to144Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 63.145Id. at pg. 21.146Reid, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida, pg. 29.147Id. at pg. 14.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 532006 the number of youth arrested for prostitution charges in Utah were reported as follows: zero (2000),three (2001), zero (2002), two (2003), seven (2004), five (2005), three (2006). From January to June 2007,five juveniles were arrested for prostitution activities. 148Table 5: Utah Arrests of Juveniles:Offense Number PercentProstitution 26 61.9%Sexual Solicitation(first offense)15 35.7%Sexual Solicitation(second offense)1 2.4%Other locations reported significant numbers of minors charged with prostitution and prostitutionrelateddelinquency offenses (see chart below). These charges are in direct conflict with the federal TVPA,which defines prostituted children as victims of sex trafficking. Furthermore, detention of these victimsis detrimental to their recovery and reintegration into society as restored children. Victims are frequentlyhoused with the general population of juvenile delinquency offenders, which results in those minors beingexposed to other delinquent types of behavior instead of rehabilitation. This practice is likely due to thelack of appropriate services or shelters for DMST victims.Table 6: Number of Victims in Detention or Juvenile Justice Facilities under Prostitution-Related Charges*Location Number of DMST Victims Time FrameDallas 165 2007Las Vegas 1,875 1996-2007Baton Rouge/New Orleans 13 2000-2008Utah 50 1996-2008Florida 364 2000-2006Fort Worth 25 2000-2008*Though there were reports of victims in detention centers or juvenile justice facilities in nine locations, only six were able toproduce specific numbers due to the lack of identification and tracking mechanisms. In addition, these numbers were obtainedthrough qualitative interviews and quantitative data collection methods. As such, these are not official government numbers.148Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pgs. 18, 39.

54S h a r e d H o p e I n t e r n a t i o n a lOf particular note is the glaring disproportionately low level of arrest of the buyers of commercialsex — from minors or adults. Law enforcement interviewees proffered explanations related to theinherent difficulty in investigating prostitution of minors through traditional “decoy” techniques usedin prostitution stings. In other cases, the defendants’ reasonable mistake of age defense contained withinmany laws at the federal and state level deters law enforcement from charging buyers of sex from minorseven when they are identified recognizing the difficulty in proving the knowledge. However, anecdotalevidence suggests more strongly that most buyers are not arrested even when caught purchasing sex from aminor or actually engaging in a commercial sex act with a prostituted minor.Arrests of Victims vs. BuyersNumber Arrested6050403020100Utah Pinellas & Pasco Fort WorthSalt Lake City Clearwater Fort WorthCounties, FLCityLocationVictimsBuyersInnovative investigative techniques have been implemented in some locations assessed in effortsto identify the traffickers and buyers. Salt Lake City Police Department standardly subpoenas theminor’s cellular telephone records immediately upon arrest in an attempt to track her movementsand contacts. 149 The greatest success in identifying and prosecuting buyers has been through Internetenticement sting operations.DetentionIn nine of the 10 assessment sites, domestic minor sex trafficking victims had been placed in juveniledetention centers. A large number of these children are processed in the juvenile justice system asdelinquents due to lack of proper identification. However, even when a child is identified as a prostitutedyouth, detention is often viewed as the only safe and secure placement option, as DMST victims poseflight risks or have a violent pimp/trafficker. Additionally, Shared Hope International found that in allassessed locations, there is a dearth of appropriate services, programs, and shelters for DMST victims —all of which contributed to the high level of victim arrests.149Id. at pg. 3.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 55“Why should these little girls trust you? These girls have so little trust because nearly every adult intheir lives has been untrustworthy, and her pimp tells her that if she gets picked up by law enforcementthen she will go to jail. And that is often what happens. So, as far as this child sees it, the only adult whohas told her the truth is the pimp.” 150 — Linda Smith, Founder and President of Shared Hope InternationalJuvenile justice agencies reported a distressing effect of the Interstate Compact for Juveniles on there-offense rate. 151 In Las Vegas, 139 juveniles from other jurisdictions were arrested in Las Vegas andadjudicated through the juvenile prostitution court over 19 months in 2006 to 2007. Nine juveniles(6.5%) re-offended in Las Vegas. Three of those juveniles were placed at WestCare, a non-secure facilityin Las Vegas, when they re-offended. Six of the juveniles were returned to other jurisdictions and theysubsequently returned to Las Vegas to re-offend. Ten percent (nine) of local juveniles re-offended in LasVegas. Authorities in Las Vegas reported wishing they could detain the out-of-state offenders in Nevadarather than return them to their home states which often release the youth promptly to a family memberor non-secure facility from which many run away. One Dallas prosecutor explained that prostitutedyouth represent the highest recidivism rate of any population in juvenile detention, with many victimschronically returning to detention through “a revolving door.” 152A promising practice for identifying and appropriately placing victims of domestic minor sex traffickingwas found in Dallas, Texas. Though several victims of DMST have been taken to juvenile detention, theChild Exploitation/Human Trafficking/High Risk Victims Unit with the Dallas Police Department hasimplemented a coordinated effort with the Letot Center, a juvenile justice facility that is also licensed bythe state child protective services agency, to divert child sex trafficking victims at this facility. The resulthas been a majority of DMST victims being taken directly to Letot, bypassing juvenile detention. 153Nonetheless, this option still involves the juvenile justice system as the only secure facility to keepexploited youth from running away.Harsher SentencesJuveniles charged with prostitution are frequently given harsher sentences than minors arrested on othermisdemeanor charges. For example, in Las Vegas, the majority of juveniles arrested for prostitutionare kept in a detention center pre-adjudication, even though only 13% of these juveniles are repeatoffenders. 154 Additionally, 40% of the juvenile victims who were re-trafficked and arrested for prostitutiona second time in Clark County, Nevada, were sentenced to time in a secure juvenile detention facility. 155For all age groups, the dispositions and detention of domestic minor sex trafficking victims are out ofproportion to those of minors held on other misdemeanor charges. 156150Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 4. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions. DVD. Washington, D.C.: Shared Hope International, 2008.151Interstate Compact for Juveniles, as amended. http://www.csg.org/programs/ncic/ documents/InterstateCompactforJuveniles.pdf.Accessed on July 3, 2008.152Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 112.153Id. at pg. 29.154Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 27.155Id. at pg. 59.156Id. at pg. 79.

56Shared Hope InternationalWhen a minor is arrested for prostitution or prostitution-related charges, there are several placementoptions, such as detention, probation, or a diversion program. For example, between August 24, 2005,and May 31, 2007, 224 female and two male juveniles were adjudicated through the Clark County,Nevada, juvenile court for prostitution or prostitution-related activity. Among them, 28 received a seconddisposition for re-offending and one other received a second and a third disposition. 157Length of Stay in DetentionFirst Detention (n = 226) Second Detention* (n = 29)Average Stay 16 days 22 daysMaximumStay78 days 87 days*There was one trafficked minor who had a third detention stay for 38 days.DispositionFirst Disposition % (n)Second Disposition % (n)Probation only 18 (41) 14 (4)Probation plus placement 18 (40) 21 (6)Probation plus closemonitoring2 (4)Probation, DCFS suspended 16 (37) 10 (3)DCFS, sent to Caliente 5 (12) 41 (12)Hold open (often transferredout of state)Transferred out of state (noprobation)No further dispositionbeyond detention17 (38)19 (42)5 (11) 14 (4)Transferred to adult court 3 (1)157Id. at pg. 135.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 57ProbationFirst Disposition % (n)Second Disposition % (n)6-month probation 10 (23) 09-month probation 6 (14) 10 (3)12-month probation 27 (62) 45 (13)Other length ofprobation2 (4) 0DCFSFirst Disposition % (n)Second Disposition % (n)DCFS 6 (13) 41 (12)DCFS Suspended** 26 (58) 21 (6)**Juveniles are released, but if they are re-arrested, they will be sent to the Nevada correctional facility.PlacementFirst Disposition % (n)Second Disposition % (n)WestCare 11 (25) 10 (3)Children of the Night 5 (11) 7 (2)Spring MountainTreatment Center

58Shared Hope International“I’ve had [a client] as young as 12 … and she looked not a day over 10 … but they are typically, kind of,busted by soliciting an undercover officer, a Vice officer who’s charged with basically seeking out thegirls and making the arrests, and the bigger picture, of course, is to get a hold of the pimp…” 160— Jessica Murphy, Deputy Public Defender,Office of the Public Defender, Clark County, NevadaAccess to Services and to Secure TestimonyDomestically trafficked minors are frequently trauma bonded to their trafficker/pimp, come from unstablehome lives, and have been entrenched in various systems (such as the juvenile justice system or childprotective services). This history causes victims to flee non-secure shelters either returning to the traffickeror running away and becoming highly vulnerable yet again to recruitment. For law enforcement andprosecutors, this reality obstructs their attempts to identify and apprehend the trafficker/pimp and placesthe victim in profound danger. As a result, prosecutors and law enforcement may resort to detainingvictims in order to maintain access to them. In both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, material witnessorders were identified as tools used by law enforcement to retain access to victims of domestic minor sextrafficking for their testimony during trial. This was viewed as a misuse of power that debilitates a victim’srestoration and rehabilitation process as specialized services rarely are available to victims while detainedand waiting for the trial. 161A dearth of services for domestically trafficked minors in the United States also contributes to thedetaining of victims. For example, in the Clearwater, Las Vegas, and Baton Rouge/New Orleansassessments, interviewees stated that DMST victims were encouraged to plead guilty in order to speedthe court process and resulting access to services. 162 However, this justification for detention is a mirage inmost cases, as appropriate services other than food and shelter are rarely provided. In Las Vegas, juvenileswere found frequently to be held in detention while pending adjudication. These children are not beingdetained due to the seriousness of their crime — in fact, approximately 95% of the cases are pled to alesser charge. 163Protection of the VictimLaw enforcement and prosecution entities explained that they may request detention of a child victim ofsex trafficking due to the threats that child faces if not detained. Domestically trafficked minors are oftenviewed as being under threat by both the direct external force of the trafficker and by internal forces suchas trauma bonds, substance abuse, and mental trauma. The threat from traffickers and pimps is very real,and traffickers have been known to specifically target youth shelters, group homes, and foster care facilities160Remarks by Jessica Murphy, Deputy Public Defender, Clark County, Nevada Office of the Public Defender. Shared HopeInternational Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking National Training Conference (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript onfile with authors.161Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 3; Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic MinorSex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg.13.162Reid, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Clearwater, Florida, pg. 73; Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic MinorSex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg.115; Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor SexTrafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 59.163Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 89.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 59as potential places for recruitment. 164 Nonetheless, detaining these victims creates even greater risksfor them as they are typically housed with the general population of juvenile offenders. One troublingcase from Fort Worth, Texas, illustrates this risk. In January 2008, law enforcement officers discovereda network of teenage pimps and sexually exploited youth and arrested a number of the members. It wasdetermined necessary to detain both the teenage suspects as well as the victims. Unfortunately, it wasdiscovered later that the teenage victims and suspects were being held at the same juvenile detentionfacility in the general population. 165While protection and safety are two critical components that must be provided to the child sex traffickingvictim, the danger of using the general delinquency system to house these victims is clear. Specializeddetention or placement is critical for this victim population.Legal discrepancies create confusion.There are discordances in laws that contribute to the arrest of victims of child sex trafficking forprostitution — the crime actually being committed against them. One such discrepancy is found betweenthe federal and state law. The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines a minor as having lessthan 18 years of age. However, the age of consent established by state laws can be substantially lowerthan 18 years and vary by state. In fact, the age of consent for sex under federal law is also 16 years. Theresult of this is confusion as to whether a person under the age of 18 but over the applicable state’s ageof consent can consent to commercial sex acts, thereby removing applicability of the federal traffickingstatute. Anti-trafficking laws criminalizing trafficking have been enacted in 38 states (as of December2008); these also define a minor as having less than 18 years of age, creating a conflict within the state’sown laws defining age of consent and age of majority. The answer though is straightforward: a child canconsent to sex at 16 years, but they cannot consent to commercial sexual activity or to appear in childpornography — children simply cannot consent to sexual activity that is otherwise illegal. In addition, theconfusion that may result from the divergent ages in the various laws does not explain a large portion ofthe arrests of domestically trafficked minors. For instance, in Nevada, the legal age of consent is 16 years,yet 17% of children arrested in 2005 to 2007 for prostitution in Clark County, Nevada, were under thisage. 166Disconnects within a single state’s laws can also result in the failure to identify victims of child sextrafficking. State laws criminalizing child sexual abuse define the child upon whom this crime isperpetrated as a victim — this would include sex trafficked children. However, the conflict arises when thechild is identified as a prostitute and charged under state prostitution laws which do not typically state thatthe offense of prostitution can only be committed by an adult. Therefore, a minor can be viewed as eithera victim of child sex abuse or, unfortunately, as a prostitute and the applicable law will determine whetherthat child is treated as a victim or a criminal.164Remarks by Sheila, Survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS. Shared Hope International National Training Conferenceon the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth. Transcript on file with authors.165Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 87.166Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 8.

60Shared Hope InternationalA case in New York presented a particularly poignant example of how the discrepancy in laws can lead tounfortunate consequences. In re Nicolette R. presented an appeal by a 12-year-old girl for her convictionfor prostitution which allegedly began at age 11. 167 The New York Supreme Court upheld the convictionon the grounds that the statute criminalizing prostitution has no age requirement and that age is not anessential element of the crime. The girl’s asserted lack of ability to consent due to her age was irrelevant tofinding that she had in fact committed the crime of prostitution as defined in the law.“If $20 is exchanged, $40 is exchanged, somehow, miraculously, all of a sudden, you’ve been ablenow to give consent, you’re developmentally able to give consent, somehow your age just doesn’t quitematter anymore, and you can be charged … And we began to educate judges and lawyers, et cetera, andwe’ve found lots of judges who said, ‘You know what? I’ve used both of these laws, and I’ve never reallyrealized that they’re totally contradictory.’” 168— Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director, GEMSThe Safe Harbor Act sprung directly from In re Nicolette and was signed into law in New York onSeptember 26, 2008. This law prevents the criminalization of certain child sex trafficking victims by givingpolice the option of bringing the victim directly to a safe shelter specially geared for domestic minor sextrafficking victims. This option is only available for children under 16 and requires the court to adjudicatethem as Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS) rather than as a juvenile delinquent. 169 While theselimitations result in certain victims not receiving the protection afforded to a victim of sex trafficking, it isa promising step forward.The labeling of a child trafficking victim as a delinquent has profound consequencesfor the victim, trafficker/pimp, buyer, and the community at large.Consequences for VictimsThe arrest of a child sex trafficking victim for prostitution is the arrest of a victim for the crime committedagainst the child. This arrest sends the child victim a very clear message: You are to blame. This messageis the same one that a trafficker/pimp delivers to his victim, as do the perpetrators of sexual abusethroughout many victims’ lives. The resulting belief in a child victim of sex trafficking that she is, in fact,to blame for the victimization leads to the belief that she is not a victim. Therefore, after being arrested, achild victim rarely self-identifies and is frequently uncooperative with law enforcement, service agencies,and other first responders. The result is an uncooperative and often unsympathetic witness. Furthermore,if the trafficker or buyer is brought to trial, juries may be less likely to convict when the victim appears tobe complicit in the prostitution.167In re Nicolette R., 779 N.Y.S.2d 487 (1st Dept. 2004). See also Thomas Adcock, “Nicolette’s Story,” New York Law Journal,October 3, 2008. http://www.legal-aid.org/en/mediaandpublicinformation/inthenews/legal,socialservicescommunitiesprepareforenactmentofsafeharboract.aspx. Accessed on April 13, 2009.168Remarks by R. Lloyd. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.169Safe Harbour for Exploited Children Act, S. 3175—C, S.2 (amending Section 311.4 of the family court act).

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 61Law enforcement officers and prosecutors frequently detain victims of child sex trafficking in a desperateattempt to protect them and obtain services for them. The good intentions backfire though as the childvictim can be deemed complicit in a criminal act (prostitution) causing her to lose access to victim-ofcrimefunds and certain social services.“There’s no support, there’s no system in place … it’s right back to detention … It’s a hard sell to saythat these girls are victims and to ask them to do what it takes to really work up a case and get one ofthese pimps when all the while they are reminded every step of the way, every moment of the day, thatthey are delinquents, they’re prostitutes, whatever you want to call them, whatever, sometimes, they callthemselves....” 170— Jessica Murphy, Deputy Public Defender,Office of the Clark County, Nevada, Public DefenderChild sex trafficking victims are housed in juvenile detention facilities with the general population ofoffenders and frequently are subject to re-victimization. Involvement in the juvenile justice system canhave long-lasting effects, including:1. delay of education2. exposure to violence in the general population3. restricted or no services4. police record5. inability to access certain jobs or scholarships6. stigmaConsequences for Traffickers and BuyersThe arrest and detention of victims of child sex trafficking can benefit the traffickers/pimps and buyers. Itis common for a buyer of sexual services from a child to be released without charge or prosecution, whilethe victim is arrested for prostitution. The perspective of the victim as perpetrator and nuisance by manyin law enforcement serves to insulate the buyers from arrest. Also, a victim’s arrest confirms the trafficker’sthreats and reaffirms her perception of law enforcement as the enemy, providing little to no reason for herto trust or cooperate with law enforcement or the juvenile justice system. The result for traffickers andbuyers is a decreased chance of being held accountable for their crimes.The same is true when perpetrators are mislabeled. Child protection staff report a reluctance to categorizefamilial involvement in the prostitution of the child as trafficking; rather, the action is labeled sexual abuseor child neglect. With differences in sentencing for these crimes, this mislabeling might allow familialtraffickers to have a lesser charge or sentence brought against them.170Remarks by J. Murphy. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

62Shared Hope InternationalConsequences for the CommunityThe arrest of domestically trafficked minors has two obvious ramifications — the arrest of thecommunity’s children and the continued presence of unknown and unpunished predators. There are someless obvious consequences for the community at large as well. Field assessments revealed reluctance onthe part of community groups and social services to report situations of child sex trafficking to police forfear that the child would be arrested. 171 As a result, known situations of commercial sexual exploitationwere not reported to law enforcement or child protective services. Not reporting instances of possibledomestic minor sex trafficking has profound implications — victims are not provided justice, perpetratorsare allowed to go free, and the community is left unaware of the crime occurring leaving it to go largelyunaddressed.Delinquent acts are often symptoms of the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor. 172 If underlyingissues of exploitation are not addressed, a victimized minor will react with hostile and destructive actions.This is demonstrated also in the high recidivism rate of delinquent juveniles who are sexual exploitationvictims.A system-wide lack of training causes the misidentification, arrest,and mislabeling of victims.In all locations assessed, Shared Hope International found a profound lack of awareness of humantrafficking as a crime among professionals within government, social services, and law enforcement, aswell as in the general public. Most professionals interviewed — from law enforcement to social serviceproviders — had little or no knowledge of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. For example,only three of 25 interviewees from 17 professions likely to come in contact with domestic minor sextrafficking victims or at-risk youth in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area were familiar with the TVPAand its subsequent reauthorizations, and only two professionals of 25 interviewees were aware that ananti-trafficking law had been added to the Louisiana Criminal Code in 2005. 173 In Atlanta, six roundtablesorganized for professionals, including superior court judges, revealed that not a single person knew thatthere was a human trafficking law that existed. 174More specifically, awareness about the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking was particularly unknown.Few participants in the assessments realized that the victims described in the TVPA definition of sextrafficking victims included specifically U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident minors under 18 yearsof age regardless of their perceived consent to the commercial sex activities. Similarly, many serviceproviders and non-profit staff were unaware that youth who qualified as domestic minor sex traffickingvictims should be considered a separate population of victims, therefore no identifying questions wereasked or disclosures by youth of commercial sexual exploitation tracked or reported.In Dallas, Texas, the Child Exploitation/High Risk Victims & Trafficking Unit (CE/HRVT Unit) of the171Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 86.172Vardaman, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pg. 73.173Bayhi-Genarro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 3.174Remarks by K. McCullough. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 63Dallas Police Department has been holding comprehensive trainings on the crime of domestic minor sextrafficking is Dallas, Texas. Although some professionals within government and social service entitiesin Dallas are not identifying child sex trafficking victims, these trainings have been closing the gap inawareness. 175 Groups in San Antonio were also found making admirable strides in garnering the necessaryawareness within first responder personnel.Lack of training within specific units and overall departments can hinder investigations of domestic minorsex trafficking crimes. Vice units are often the first units within a police department to be associated withthe investigation of prostitution of children; however, patrol units are critical in identifying victims. Forinstance, in Dallas an estimated 50% of domestic minor sex trafficking referrals to prosecutors originate inunits other than the vice unit, CE/HRVT Unit. 176 In 2006, 40% of domestic minor sex trafficking victimswere arrested by patrol officers. 177 In Salt Lake City, the vice unit is well-trained and has comprehensiveprotocols in place, but three other units within the department — the Sex Crimes/Crimes against ChildrenUnit, the Youth Division, and the Victim Advocate Program — which should have been involved in theresponse to domestic minor sex trafficking at the department level were not aware of the large numbers ofthese cases encountered by the vice unit. 178 The assessment in Fort Worth, Texas, found that six domesticminor sex trafficking victims had been identified through investigating a sexual assault of a minor reportor prostitution charges; two victims were identified when their pictures were posted as “escorts” on theInternet. 179The lack of training directly affects the identification and handling of a child sex trafficking case. Victimcenteredinterviewing techniques are necessary for all traumatized populations, but especially for children.When a domestically trafficked minor is not recognized as a child victim, these precautions are not taken.Unfortunately, despite the importance of training for domestic minor sex trafficking, funding forthis training is rare. In fact, Innocence Lost, an initiative by the Department of Justice to address theprostitution of children, recently lost its funding for training law enforcement. Additionally, the NationalHuman Trafficking Conferences sponsored by the Department of Justice have addressed humantrafficking of U.S. citizens and permanent residents only peripherally.Promising practices for training, protocols, and procedures.Training Across Departments and SystemsThough every assessment revealed a lack of training on domestic minor sex trafficking, promisingpractices have been illustrated through the work of innovative programs and initiatives. Successfulinitiatives train diverse cross-sections of professions and departments in recognition of the many avenuesthat domestically trafficked minors come into contact with governmental and non-governmental agenciesand systems. Law enforcement and prosecutors in San Antonio, Dallas, and Oakland are positiveexamples of this promising training method. In each of these cities, training on domestic minor sex175Hay, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Dallas, Texas, pg. 2.176Id. at pg. 21.177Kennedy and Pucci, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Las Vegas, Nevada, pg. 15.178Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 23.179Stevens, Eve, Smith and Bing, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Fort Worth, Texas, pg. 21.

64Shared Hope Internationaltrafficking has gone beyond the units that routinely come into contact with prostitution activities, such asvice units. Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors are expanding aggressive efforts to train personnellikely to come into contact with domestically trafficking minors, though they may not initially be aware ofthe exploitation. These personnel include patrol officers, warrant officers, and transit authorities.Similarly, successful training initiatives are also multi-disciplinary and include a wide variety ofprofessionals, such as juvenile probation officers, child protective services, social service outreach workers,religious entities, juvenile court judges, juvenile public defenders, law enforcement, prosecutors, andeducational systems.Incorporating Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking into Intake ProcessesAssessments revealed it was rare for agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, to ask questionsof youth that relate to domestic minor sex trafficking. In all ten assessments, social service agencies,homeless youth shelters, law enforcement, child welfare workers, etc., stated repeatedly that:1. Questions and intake procedures used on at-risk youth did not include questions that couldfacilitate disclosure regarding DMST victimization; and2. Intake procedures did not take into account the unique context surrounding domestic minor sextrafficking, such as pimp control and the stigma regarding prostitution.When agencies do incorporate questions that either facilitate disclosure or indicate a need for furtherinquiry, patterns start to emerge. For example, Hopevale, Inc., a non-secure detention facility near Buffalo,New York, has found through testing that 95% of the population coming into the facility has a sexuallytransmitted disease. 180 Thus, they established a standard question by the nurse during medical examinationas to whether the youth has ever exchanged sex for anything of value. Similarly, a homeless shelter in SaltLake City found that when they asked youth who they suspected initiated the solicitation in “survival sex”exchanges, 50% of those minors explained they were actually sought out and solicited by an adult. 181“And what we do, and what we have to do as a system, and one of the ways we try and do these cases, isput the burden on us, as a system, and take it off the child. To expect a child to carry this whole burdento court is almost impossible … We actually have a greater case-filing percentage and prosecution ofthese [domestic minor sex trafficking] cases than we do our traditional child physical and sexual abusecases. These cases were very prosecutable, once we changed our investigating models and techniques,once we put the burden upon us.” 182— Sergeant Byron Fassett, Dallas Police DepartmentVictim-Centered InterviewingThough commonly thought of in terms of law enforcement, victim-centered interviewing is also necessary180Andolina Scott, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report -- Buffalo, New York, pg. 34.181Snow, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 55.182Remarks by B. Fassett. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 65for social service agencies, prosecutors, juvenile justice workers, and child protective services. Manyagencies report utilizing generic or adult-oriented intake and interviewing procedures that do notincorporate any DMST specific questions or take into account the psychological, social, and criminalelements of domestic minor sex trafficking.Conversely, when entities gear their interviews to incorporate the dynamics of domestic minor sextrafficking, such as trauma bonds, pimp control, severe chronic trauma, learned hostility, etc., a higherlevel of trust is obtained from the youth, along with greater disclosure of information. Some promisinginterviewing approaches to working with domestically trafficked minors are:1. Planning on multiple meetings with the victim in order to build trust and rapport. Once trust isbuilt, then a forensic interview can be conducted where reliable information is more likely to begained.2. Using victim-centered approaches that place the safety and needs of the victim first rather thanfocusing on information about the trafficker/pimp through a flip-interview.3. Interviewing a domestically trafficked minor in an environment conducive to her status as a victimand a minor, such as at a social service agency or office, rather than an interview room used forsuspects.4. Being cognizant of the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking when deciding on where to conductinterviews. For example, it is inappropriate for a child who has been commercially sexuallyexploited to be interviewed in a hotel or motel given that the minor has likely been raped in such anenvironment.5. Having experienced interviewers or a survivor of sex trafficking either conduct or be present at theinterview can assist in establishing trust. These professionals understand the dynamics of pimpcontrol and the resulting behavior, such as trying to manipulate their way out of the situation orrefusing help, and viewing law enforcement and social services as enemies.6. Gender-appropriate interviewing is vital; however, this does not mean that a uniform protocol mustbe set (i.e. a woman always interviews a girl or a male always interviews a boy). Rather, genderdynamics must be accounted for and assessed in that particular situation.7. Weapons and uniforms are likely to trigger defense mechanisms and should not be worn whileinterviewing a potential victim.8. Using language that is relevant to the victim such as identifying and asking about her “boyfriend”before labeling him as a trafficker/pimp.Victim-witness interviews require the same sensitivity during the investigation phase as well as theprosecution phase. Prosecutors reported a preference for live testimony from the child victim in court.Some prosecutors stated it was required under Crawford v. Washington, a federal court decision holdingthat testimonial statements made outside of court proceedings are not admissible unless the person whomade the statement is unavailable for testimony at the trial and the defense has had a prior opportunityto cross-examine the declarant. 183 Even in those locations with child advocacy centers capable of closedcircuit testimony for sexual abuse victims, this victim-friendly technology was not accessed in casesinvolving commercially sexually exploited children. This was noted as a gap in protecting the child victimwitnessin the investigation and prosecution phase.183Wade, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Independence, Missouri, pg. 55, citing Crawford v. Washington,541 U.S. 36. 2004.

66Shared Hope InternationalCreating Accountability through Procedures and ProtocolsA common theme in all ten assessments was a lack of understanding throughout all professional groupsof who had responsibility for domestically trafficked minors. Law enforcement participants statedthat protection of victims is the job of child protective services as familial neglect is usually involved;however, child protection workers unequivocally state that victim protection is the responsibility of lawenforcement. The result in far too many cases is an abdication of responsibility for the protection ofdomestically trafficked minors.The same issue arises when either shelter or services for domestically trafficked minors is addressed.Similarly, social service providers and non-governmental organizations stated that they do not have thelegal ability to provide long-term care for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, as they cannot acquirecustody of the child. Therefore, many social service agencies pointed to the fact that long-term care is theresponsibility of child protective services. Unfortunately, child protective service agencies stated that theirmandate does not extend to the majority of these children and a lack of resources hinder their ability toaddress those that do. Once again, this results in no clear responsible agency providing long-term care tosexually trafficked youth.The Dallas Police Department’s Child Exploitation/High Risk Victims/Human Trafficking Unit hasa promising practice working to address this lack of accountability and responsibility. The CE/HRV/HT Unit assigns a highly trained detective to a potential case of domestic minor sex trafficking. Thatdetective is then assigned to that child every time the child comes into contact with the Dallas PoliceDepartment. This protocol works to create a bond between the victim and detective and facilitatesdisclosures. Furthermore, the assigned detective is responsible for contacting child protective services andother needed entities — thus, creating a “paper trail” that can be used to hold groups accountable. Theseprocedures and protocols have had profound success in Dallas, but require significant investment by boththe detectives and upper-level management.A similar protocol has worked in Boston as well, where a specific caseworker has been assigned towork with all domestically trafficked minors. The purpose of the caseworker is to facilitate the minor’sinteractions with various agencies, such as the police department, child protective services, and juvenilejustice. This point person helps the minor negotiate these complex systems engendering trust betweenthe minor and the caseworker. This arrangement also brings accountability for the minor’s rescue andrestoration.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 67Chapter 7: Shelter and ServicesThe country-wide lack of protective shelter and specialized services is responsible forthe re-victimization and criminalization of domestic minor sex trafficking victims.Trauma bonds, pimp control, threats against family members or the victim, and stigma, cause the majorityof domestically trafficked minors to flee non-protective shelters. Another common issue is traffickers/pimps actually going to shelters, or the neighborhoods where the shelters are located, in order to re-trafficor recruit their victims.With few appropriate shelters available for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, victims are oftenarrested and placed in detention facilities for their protection — though this is not done for domesticviolence victims, rape victims, or other child sexual abuse victims. While this is sometimes viewed as theonly option available to arresting officers, it is a practice that pulls the victim deeper into the juvenilejustice system, re-victimizes, and hinders access to services. Furthermore, the arrest and detainment of thevictim confirms the identity that has been assigned to her by the pimp/trafficker and reinforces the beliefthat she is not worthy of rescue or justice as a victim of a violent crime.Protective ShelterIn nine out of ten assessments, there was a lack of protective shelter for child sex trafficking victims. Only fiveresidential facilities specific to this population exist across the country. These include the Girls Educationaland Mentoring Services (GEMS) Transition to Independent Living (TIL) in New York City, Standing AgainstGlobal Exploitation (SAGE) Safe House in San Francisco, Children of the Night in Los Angeles, Angela’sHouse in Atlanta, and the Letot Center in Dallas. The term ”protective shelter” refers to a facility with theability to separate a victim from a trafficker/pimp and provide the victim a restorative home to stabilize, heal,and move toward independence. How the protective nature of a restorative home manifests can depend onindividual shelter. Some ways that protective shelters have manifested are through:1. Distance — Isolate the shelter from major transportation centers and common trafficking/pimpingareas.2. Staff Secure — A large ratio of staff to minors can help keep a minor from being re-trafficked andhinder running away.3. Formal Security — Security systems, such as outdoor and indoor cameras, can go a long way toproviding security. Highly secure facilities that are restorative in nature can also assist in hinderingboth outsiders obtaining entry and youth running away.“I believe that the investigation and the treatment go hand-in-hand. One supports the other. Treatmentenables successful investigations in the prosecution of perpetrators, and successful investigation enablestreatment.” 184— Sergeant Byron Fassett, Dallas Police Department184Remarks by B. Fassett. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

68Shared Hope InternationalProtective shelter can be either a mandatory or voluntary placement depending on the situation. Manysocial service professionals argue against mandatory, secured facilities for domestic minor sex traffickingvictims, as this can exacerbate a victim’s reluctance to trust authorities and is compared by the victimto the control previously exerted by the trafficker. 185 On the other hand, protective shelters that utilizedistance and staff security, as well as camera systems have reported success. For example, the Letot Centerin Dallas, Texas, is a staff-secure facility and reports that in one year, just three youth ran away out of the350 youth placed at the facility. 186There is a lack of specialized services geared toward the unique needs of domesticminor sex trafficking victims.Shared Hope International found a profound lack of specialized services in all ten research sites. Forinstance, in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans assessment, it was found that though child protective servicesreported 35 allegations of domestic minor sex trafficking from 19 parishes from July 2006 to the time ofthe assessment in April 2008, there were no services or protocols specifically in place for the victims. 187The pervasive misunderstanding of the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking has several consequencesleading to the failure of specialized services for the victims. First, victims of domestic minor sex traffickingare often categorized and then treated as victims of some other type of child sexual abuse. Whilerecognition of existing familial child sexual abuse is necessary in addressing and treating root causes, asthe exploitation shifts to sex trafficking, the diagnosis and treatment must shift as well. Second, victims ofdomestic minor sex trafficking are often labeled “child prostitutes.” This label places blame and assumesa choice by the child victim, failing to take into account the effect of pimp control dynamics and traumabonds. Without considering these critical elements of control over the child victim, treatment is nearlyimpossible for the victim. It is imperative that service providers know about the unique needs of victimsof child sex trafficking in designing intake procedures, making diagnoses, and planning and monitoringtreatment to better serve this population of victims. Though several agencies in the ten locations werefound to have designed a program for youth at-risk or victimized through sex trafficking, these agencieswere operating mostly alone in their communities and were rare. This is a problem encountered across thecountry resulting in child victims of sex trafficking not receiving needed services.The issue of a lack of specialized services is compounded by domestic minor sex trafficking victims beingadjudicated in the juvenile justice system. Juvenile detention staff stated they felt juvenile detention was aninappropriate placement for victims and they felt unequipped to handle the complex trauma and needs ofa domestically trafficked minor. This pervasive issue is a major concern for law enforcement, prosecutors,social service agencies, and other first responders across the country. Without specialized services, the childvictim cannot be stabilized, which hinders investigations, prosecutions, and restoration. While domesticminor sex trafficking is a form of sexual abuse, it is complex with unique dynamics that must be taken intoaccount. When these aspects are not addressed, services are ineffective or fail.185Clawson, Heather J. Ph.D. and Lisa Goldblatt Grace, LICSW. “Finding a Path to Recovery: Residential Facilities for MinorVictims of Domestic Sex Trafficking,” Study of HHS Programs Serving Human Trafficking Victims (Prepared for: Office of theAssistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services by Caliber: September2007). http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/HumanTrafficking/ResFac/ib.htm. Accessed on April 30, 2009.186Remarks by Cathy Brock. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth(Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.187Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 133.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 69Promising practices for specialized services.There are common themes among the handful of existing restorative programs geared towarddomestically trafficked youth. Despite the lack of formal evaluation measures regarding specific outcomes,these agencies have worked to identify theoretical components of successful practices in dealing withdomestic minor sex trafficking victims.Restoring DignityIt is crucial to enable victims of domestic minor sex trafficking to see that they are worth much morethan the social stigmas placed on them would imply. Chronic abuse, manipulation, and social stigmaintersect to perpetuate an internalized belief amongst domestically trafficked minors that they are “bad”and somehow deserve the exploitation they’ve experienced. Survivors, law enforcement, and social serviceworkers all firmly state that it is imperative to counter this self-perception crafted by the pimp/traffickerwith non-judgmental and empowering messages integrated into investigative techniques and restorativeprograms.An important aspect to recovery is helping these minors understand their victim status and separate whothey are from the experiences they have been forced to have. One way this can be accomplished is to helpthem discover their strengths and use them to benefit others. Some agencies have aided victims’ recoveryprocess by allowing them to work as volunteers, assisting others with their own healing.“One of the things that became abundantly clear to the staff is that she (a survivor of DMST) hada real capacity to … care for others, and a real compassion there. And they arranged for her to dosome volunteer work at a seniors’ home. She came home after the fourth visit to the seniors’ home, justfloating on air, for lack of a better word — they had offered her a job working at the facility. And hercomment at the time was, ‘I didn’t know I was good at anything but being bad.’” 188— Andrea Hesse, Alberta Children’s Services, PSECA, CanadaHaving a Trauma PerspectiveNearly every professional population interviewed for the assessments reported frustration at workingwith domestically trafficked minors. However, many of the seemingly disjointed reactions and behaviorscommonly exhibited by victims are normal and can even be anticipated when viewed through a lens ofcomplex trauma. By understanding how trauma manifests, such as through disorganized memories,somatic reactions, post-traumatic stress disorder, inability to self-soothe, etc., programs and interventionshave a much greater chance of success.188Remarks by A. Hesse. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

70Shared Hope InternationalRecognizing the severe impact of trauma in the lives of child victims of commercial sexual exploitationconfirms the need for law enforcement and service provider collaboration. The law enforcementinvestigation can benefit by allowing service providers to work with the victimized youth first, potentiallyengaging the youth’s parasympathetic nervous system and regulating the neurological system, calming thevictim and encouraging better recall of the details of her exploitation.ConsistencyVictims of sex trafficking have been rejected and abused by so many people that consistent, unrelentingsupport and love is a necessity in reaching out to them. Furthermore, traffickers/pimps provide a chaotichome life and existence that affect the child’s development in multiple ways. Structure and stability,on the other hand, assist in creating a sense of safety for the victim; however, it is important to notethis unfamiliar aspect to their environment may initially be rejected. Consistency and the underlyingcompassion for these victims, regardless of their attitudes or appearance, is a powerful tool in servingdomestically trafficked minors.Countering the Trauma BondOnce the trauma bond is identified, countering it becomes an important issue to address.Agencies need to recognize that there are psychological and emotional reasons why the victim is attachedto her trafficker/pimp. Methods can be implemented to counter that bond by identifying what needs thetrafficker is fulfilling and providing a healthy alternative.Table 7: Countering Trauma BondsTrafficker ProvidesTraffickers/pimps seek to fill emotionalvoids and needed roles.Traffickers/pimps provide hope, which theylater exploit.Traffickers/pimps fill physical needs.Traffickers/pimps thrive off fear andintimacy creating instability.Traffickers/pimps manipulate, lie, betray,and let the victim down, but they are alwaysthere.ResponseFind out what needs are being met or aretrying to be met, such as love and selfesteem.Give hope through a variety of ways, suchas skill-building, education, and advocacy.Provide holistic programs and services.Create a safe pace to stabilize and long-termcare.Set realistic and honest expectations. Beconsistent.A victim of child sex trafficking normally has a range of physical reactions to the trauma. These reactionscan manifest in addictions, illnesses, diseases, and psychosomatic reactions. Many survivors of domesticminor sex trafficking reveal disassociating as a means of surviving the chronic sexual abuse. Thoughresearch specific to disassociation by child sex trafficking victims is lacking, it is important to consider

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 71in designing programs. Physical components to programs can include counseling, medical care, andpsychiatric care, as well as simple physical activity that addresses the psychosomatic aspects to trauma,such as exercise, hiking, and yoga.“We try to make the point [that] clearly it isn’t love if he takes your money. The young person, the onlything they’re hearing is, ‘I’m unlovable.’ You have to be able to [say], ‘I’m not surprised somebody wouldlove you. You are so smart, and funny and beautiful. I’m sure he does love you. But, let’s talk a little bitmore about how that love plays out. Let’s talk about … when that love doesn’t feel so good.’” 189— Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director, GEMSSurvivor EmpowermentVictims of domestic minor sex trafficking have experienced the complete loss of their personal freedomand, consequently, their ability to exert control over their own lives. Part of rehabilitation should includeempowering the survivor to regain control over that which was taken by their trafficker/pimp. The processof acquiring control will depend on the level of healing experienced by the victim. As the trafficker hascontrolled every aspect of the victim’s life, including when she could eat or go to the bathroom, presentingtoo many options and areas of decisions can be overwhelming for the victim. The victim must beempowered to reach each level of self-control and decision-making, which will necessarily happen over aperiod of time.Nevertheless, there are ways to provide victims control immediately. One way is to talk with the victimusing accessible language and the minor’s communication style. 190 Secondly, it is important to disclose tothe victim from the very beginning the details of the program and the agency’s capacity, the reactions ofthe systems they are involved with (e.g. juvenile justice system), and what recovery may look like — boththe positive and the negative. 191Healing is a ProcessThe healing process for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking takes time and patience. It does nothappen overnight, nor should victims be expected to rush through the process; the wounding theyexperienced creates immense personal hurdles they must overcome. These victims must be viewed withcompassion as they confront both their excruciating past and the repercussions it has on their lives.Though this may seem understandable and a natural part to developing programs and initiatives toaddress domestic minor sex trafficking, no long-term care was able to be found in all 10 assessments.Many service providers attempt to provide continued support for survivors but limited resources often189Remarks by R. Lloyd. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.190Remarks by Amy Corbett, LMHC, GIFT Group Home, Boston, Massachusetts. Shared Hope International National TrainingConference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.191Remarks by R. Lloyd. Shared Hope International National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth.Transcript on file with authors.

72Shared Hope Internationalrestrict the much needed long-term care. In order to reduce re-victimization and aid in full restoration,service and shelter to child victims of sex trafficking should be provided consistently, at least through their18th birthday, as with other child sexual abuse victims.Child protective services (CPS) interactions with domestic minor sex trafficking victims.Confusion over the Mandate of CPSDomestically trafficked minors have experienced both abuse and neglect; however, most CPS workersstate that unless the perpetrator is a family member or “caregiver,” their mandate does not allow them tobecome involved. There are several problems with this often cited complication:1. Even when the trafficker is not a family member, minors are often vulnerable to victimization dueto parental neglect.2. Though the definition of “caregiver” varies from state to state, traffickers have taken control andcare over the child for extended periods of time through the pimp control dynamic. Many statedefinitions would allow for a trafficker to be defined as a caregiver if child protective services choseto address it.3. Taking into account the vast number of domestic minor sex trafficking victims that have historiesof familial abuse, these children either have already had contact with child protective services orshould have but did not.In addition, CPS agencies reported large caseload and limited resources resulting in a highly structuredprioritization process of the complaints received for investigation and action. Several CPS staff reportedthat youth over 15 years old are deemed to be sufficiently capable of calling for help if abuse occursagain; this in spite of the mandate to protect all children under 18 years of age and in spite of abusehaving been reported already. This de facto emancipation of minors is detrimental for victims ofdomestic minor sex trafficking, many of whom fall within this unprotected range of 15 to 18 years ofage. Assessments in many locations found that CPS workers often choose to narrowly interpret theirmandate resulting in significant confusion over whose responsibility it is to provide protection, shelter, andservices to domestically trafficked minors. With different entities unequivocally stating that it is “not theirresponsibility,” these child victims are left without the safety net CPS is intended to provide.Intake Categories Misidentify Domestic Minor Sex TraffickingThe majority of CPS caseworkers interviewed for the assessments were not familiar with humantrafficking terminology or laws; however, they were keenly aware of the situation of one type of domesticminor sex trafficking primarily: familial prostitution. The misidentification of a child sex trafficking victimexploited through familial prostitution is a reflection of the lack of training on child sex trafficking andthe failure of the intake process to include identifiers of domestic minor sex trafficking. CPS agenciesin each state have their own protocols and management; the intake process varies, but most proceduresdictate that allegations are categorized broadly with specifics of the abuse recorded separately in anarrative section. For example, a hotline call reporting a family member selling sex with their child toa landlord typically would be identified in the report as “sexual abuse.” This general categorizationprevents statistics to be calculated for disaggregated types of abuse, such as familial prostitution, becausethe narrative section would not populate the statistics. As a result, information on the prevalence of

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 73commercial sexual exploitation of children in the CPS cases was obtained through interviews. In spite ofthese gaps, nearly every CPS caseworker interviewed for the assessments was able to recall at least one, ifnot multiple cases, which had indicators for domestic minor sex trafficking.Adolescents are Lower PriorityChild protective services across the United States have taken a tiered approach to addressing child sexualabuse and neglect cases due to being severely under-resourced and under-staffed. Though each state isdifferent, CPS caseworkers stated that adolescents were routinely regarded as low priority. This is oftenbecause adolescents are assumed to have a greater ability to protect themselves. The self-protectionassumption is faulty when a youth is faced with a systematic, violent, and organized criminal entity.Contributing to this lack of prioritization is a lack of screening mechanisms that also plagues lawenforcement and social service agencies. When community members report a potential case of child abuseor neglect to the state hotline, the calls are screened on the basis of the CPS mandate determining whetherthere is an imminent harm to the minor. Traffickers are rarely defined as a caregiver, and adolescents arefrequently categorized as low risk; therefore, cases of domestic minor sex trafficking are screened outbefore ever reaching a caseworker. Furthermore, when a case is referred for investigation, it is often underthe generalized rubric of “sexual abuse,” and data is not collected that could inform investigators on thescope and nature of DMST occurring in a community.There are, however, some promising practices emerging. For instance, child protective services in Bostonimplemented the GIFT Network in 2008 which specifically provides services, shelter, and specialized fostercare for domestic minor sex trafficking victims. A progressive step forward, the GIFT Network is availablefor 50 victims, aged 12 to 21, who are currently in the Massachusetts CPS system. 192 In addition, Louisianaand Florida also recently changed their intake documents to allow workers to select commercial sexualexploitation or prostitution underneath the category of sexual abuse. This will enhance the states’ abilitiesto track and understand domestic minor sex trafficking within their communities.192Remarks by Katie Carlson, Director GIFT Network, Boston, Massachusetts. Shared Hope International National TrainingConference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth (Dallas, Texas: September 15-16, 2008). Transcript on file with authors.

74Shared Hope InternationalChapter 8: Next StepsNext Step #1: U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident child victims of sextrafficking must not be criminalized.There is a dichotomy between the treatment of domestically trafficked minors and their status as victims.Despite being recognized as victims by the majority of participants in all ten assessment sites, thesevictims are being labeled and treated as delinquents. This criminalization creates barriers to servicedelivery and infringes on victim rights to which domestic minor sex trafficking victims should have access.The solution requires harmonization of laws to ensure minors exploited through commercial sexualacts are not charged with a crime. Also, proper safe placements are required such that law enforcement,prosecutors, and the judiciary are not compelled to criminalize a domestic minor sex trafficking victim forthe purpose of securing her for her own safety and/or for continued access to her as a witness.Next Step #2: The arrest and prosecution of buyers must be made a priority.Buyers are not arrested and prosecuted as frequently as necessary to deter the crime of solicitation.Though tremendous efforts have been taken to combat traffickers and other sexual exploiters, buyershave not been targeted. Demand is the root cause of domestic minor sex trafficking. Buyers of sex actswith children must face substantial penalties and coordinated efforts to hold them accountable. Recentindictments of buyers under the federal TVPA is a promising development, as buyers will face the severepenalties of the TVPA, increasing the deterrent effect of the federal law.Next Step #3: Domestic minor sex trafficking must be recognized as a national threat.Domestic minor sex trafficking is a burgeoning criminal enterprise in America. Gangs are turning toprostituting minors as a less risky source of revenue than drug trafficking or other crimes. Traffickers offoreign victims into the U.S. are finding local, American children easier to recruit and sell without thedifficulties of crossing borders. Communities are being adversely affected with the loss of hundreds ofthousands of children to this victimization. Resources must be committed and a zero-tolerance standardmust be implemented at the law enforcement level with regard to buyers of sex from minors to attack thetrafficker networks as well as the buyers presenting the demand in this market.Next Step #4: Innovative investigative techniques, technology, and protocols areneeded to combat domestic minor sex trafficking.Traffickers, facilitators, and buyers use innovative methods to market, sell, and buy children, therefore,investigations must be equally innovative. Current methods must be assessed and law enforcemententities that have been addressing domestic minor sex trafficking can provide evidence-based techniques.The absence of investigative protocols for the treatment of the victims was notably absent in several ofthe assessment sites, but these protocols are critical to ensure successful participation of the victims ininvestigating the crime.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children 75Next Step #5: Appropriate protective shelter and services are critical for the protectionand restoration of child sex trafficking victims.The current situation of domestic minor sex trafficking victims being placed in general population juveniledetention or being returned to the home from which they fled is detrimental to all parties. These victimsrequire specialized care while being protected from their trafficker. The lack of such shelter across thenation is preventing first responders from succeeding in protecting and gaining justice for the victims ofchild sex trafficking. Funding authorized in the TVPA reauthorization for such shelters and services fordomestic victims must be appropriated in order to move forward in this critical area.Next Step #6: A nationwide, multi-disciplinary reporting measure is needed to capturethe true scope of domestic minor sex trafficking.There is no national reporting measure currently in place to provide accurate reporting of the numbersof commercially sexually exploited youth in America. The proliferation of labels and variations in datareporting in each state creates an inability to assess the true scope of domestic minor sex trafficking.Nonetheless, experts have estimated numbers from 100,000 to 300,000 children each year are victimized inprostitution in America. It is critical to establish standard reporting metrics through a federal authorityin order to address this crime and victimization in a national approach. The 42 Human TraffickingTask Forces funded through the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance have requiredperformance metrics which collect the statistics and information on human trafficking cases involvingforeign victims. Barriers to reporting on domestic sex trafficking victims must be lifted and these numberscollected as well in order to obtain a complete picture of the scope of domestic minor sex trafficking inthe United States. Additionally, child protection agencies in each state should establish a classification ofcommercial sexual exploitation of children in the reporting format.Next Step #7: Survivors must be leaders in the development of services, shelter, andresponse protocols to domestic minor sex trafficking.Survivor leadership is critical to establishing appropriate protections and restoration for victims ofdomestic minor sex trafficking, as they have shared histories and, as a result can often establish trust morequickly. Several successful programs and organizations are led by survivors currently and these should besupported further to be more effective. Survivors are excellent advocates and must be facilitated in beingheard at the policy level.www.sharedhope.org